Life Gone Astray
by llcreator
Summary: When Mellie and Fitz's grown daughter comes back home, wanting the truth from the two of them, life begins to spiral downwards. Charlotte has a secret of her own as well. How will Mellie deal with her daughter, and will they be able to repair their relationship?
1. Chapter 1

Dust surrounded the small table where the slim brunette was seated. Then again, dust encapsulated the whole place, so the area around the table was not made special by the dirtiness of it, but rather the feeling that was in the air, put off by the brunette. She didn't belong in the dirty bar, not just because she was clearly too young, but because she felt too high-class. But she didn't seem to mind, as she downed her third Fireball of the night, glanced around, and settled back in her seat to scroll through her social media.

The motions of the brunette seemed calm, normal to the naked eye, but if one looked closer, her fingers shook slightly as she slid them along the bright screen, and her eyes darted about the place every few seconds. Then again, no individual at The One-Eyed Pirate cared enough to look.

Another hour passed, and the brunette had not changed her routine, when she dropped her phone in her back pocket, threw a few bills on the table, and stood up to leave. She stepped delicately onto a street nearly as dirty as the spot she had just vacated. There weren't many souls out at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday night, except for a few young teenagers who had clearly snuck out. As the brunette passed the group, slightly drunk and a little ignorant, one girl glanced up, gasped, and snapped a grainy cell phone video. The brunette, in her ignorance, paid the girl no mind, at least at that moment. Instead, she slipped into a seedy motel, paid fifty bucks for a room for the night, and laid down to sleep off the whiskey.

In another part of town, four hours later, Mellie Grant awoke to the incessant banging of one Olivia Pope. She rolled over, pulling the covers up to her chin, and throwing a pillow over her head. Apparently now that the two were friends, Olivia just couldn't get enough of Mellie's company, because the banging was not stopping.

"Mellie, I know you're in there. Open the door."

"Olivia, it is too early. I have two days off of the campaign trail, and I plan to spend them in bed until at least ten a.m. every morning, so go away!"

"Mellie, this is more important than your bed." Olivia's tone changed slightly, becoming deeper and more insistent, but Mellie refused to notice.

"Nothing is more important than bed," Mellie mumbled, not nearly loud enough for Liv to hear.

"Mellie, it's Charlotte."

That was more important than bed. It took Mellie all of two seconds to open the door to a stoic Olivia, look down on her, and, with a slow intensity, say, "What about Charlotte?"

"I think we should sit down." Olivia made a move to enter Mellie's apartment, something she'd done a million times before, but Mellie stopped her.

"What. About. Charlotte. Liv?" A porcelain hand entrenched itself in Olivia's arm, and the blue eyes betrayed an emotion Olivia had never seen in Mellie's expressive eyes before, and she wasn't quite sure what to call it.

"Mellie, we are going to go inside, and we are going to sit down. I will pour us two cups of coffee, and I will explain the situation to you, with no interruptions. But I am telling you right now, you will be sitting, because I do not need you to lose your head over this. " Mellie cocked her head defiantly, but turned on her heel and planted herself on the couch. If this was what she needed to do to get information out of Liv, fine, she'd do it. All she wanted right now was to know that her daughter was okay.

Liv gently set two cups of black coffee on the end table, sat next to Mellie, and opened her phone to a grainy video of a slim, tall brunette, with smeared mascara, stumbling into a cheap motel. Mellie took the phone, with wide eyes, and replayed the video three times. She kept praying she'd see something different, that the video would suddenly switch to cats playing piano, but each time, it was the same girl, the same walk, the same motel. Mellie sighed, shook her head, and rubbed her temple with her right hand.

"Where is she?"

"Here." Mellie looked up at Olivia, confused.

"How? She's supposed to be in Pennsylvania, at school. There are guards, security, Secret Service! How is she here?" Mellie tried to stop the anger from spilling out of her. It was just like her eldest daughter to do something like this, something so stupid and careless. Right at a prime time in her campaign. A presidential hopeful's, not to mention the president himself's, underage daughter, wandering about D.C., drunk off her ass. Just perfect.

"Mellie, calm down, we need to look at this rationally. I'm not the only one who's seen this video. Quinn pulled it off Twitter, so we don't know how many people watched it. We need to be delicate, spin this story so you come out on top." Olivia was already typing on her phone, trying to find out from Quinn how many people had seen the video, if it could be taken down. But Mellie was in no mood to remain calm.

"You have your people find my daughter and bring her to me, so we can have a nice chat about responsibility." Mellie focused on a photo on her mantel, of her and Charlotte at Charlotte's high school graduation. Two years ago, Mellie thought she had the perfect daughter. Now, she wasn't so sure.

"I don't think we need Huck to find her. Abby just texted. Charlotte's in Fitz's office."


	2. Chapter 2

Fitz was still trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes as he put his hand on the doorknob of the Oval. The slightly annoying voice of his redheaded press secretary was following him already, catching him up on what he had missed during his five hour vacation to Dreamland.

"...and the stock market took a dive this morning but it doesn't look too serious. Sir, wait, don't go in there yet." Abby finally glanced up from her notes to look at Fitz straight-on for the first time that morning.

"Why can't I go into my office, Abby?" He barely had the energy to ask this question, exasperated at yet another interruption on his traipse to the stack of papers that was sure to greet him on his big wood desk.

"I just thought you'd like to know you have a visitor, sir, it's-"

"I'll figure out who it is." Fitz promptly swung open the door to his office, and for a moment he thought it was vacated. Then he noticed his visitor had the audacity to sit in his chair.

"Hi Daddy." Charlotte sat there, a big grin on her face, resting her elbows on the big oak desk, and her chin on her forearms, perfectly calm.

"Charlotte!" In his joy and surprise, Fitz didn't even think to wonder how or why she was there. He swung his not-so-little girl into his arms and kissed her cheek.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, baby. But how are you here? I thought you were at school."

"Well, it's college, Daddy, not prison. It's not like I broke out." Charlotte rolled her eyes, knowing that she, technically, had done just that.

"You slipped away from the Secret Service? How could they let that happen? I handpicked the agents who guard you and your siblings, you're not supposed to be able to slip out. Someone is going to pay for this."

"Oh, Daddy, don't freak out. It was my fault, really. I planned it all out and everything-" Charlotte's explanation was cut off by the sound of Mellie's very loud, very angry, yelling.

"Get out of my way and just let me into his damn office!"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, I can't let you do that."

"Let her in, before she breaks something." A third voice joined the group, that of Olivia Pope. Fitz had been tense before, at the sound of his approaching ex-wife, but now his ex-mistress made him a wooden plank. Charlotte, on the other hand, lazily threw herself back into Fitz's desk chair, grabbing a chocolate out of the crystal bowl, and popping it in her mouth, just as the door blew open, and Mellie stormed in like a furious hurricane. She didn't even bother to say hello.

"What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing?" Mellie enunciated with a meticulous slowness, but every word had the impact she intended. For a split second, Charlotte actually got nervous under her mother's glare, but then she remembered what she knew, and the emotion was gone.

"Mellie, could you at least greet our daughter?" Mellie turned on Fitz now, eyebrows raised in shock, before she realized.

"You haven't seen it." There was a tickle of joy hidden in Mellie's voice. She knew something Fitz didn't. But that joy was also accompanied by another bout of anger as she remembered what she had seen not too long ago.

"Seen what?" Fitz glanced at Charlotte, who shrugged. Inside, she was now worried. Her mother was clearly pissed about something other than her daughter's unexpected visit.

"Olivia, would you show Fitz the video, please." Olivia cocked an eyebrow, feeling like she was intruding on a private family matter, but pulled up the video anyways, handing the phone to an unsuspecting Fitz. His face betrayed his emotions as he watched the ten second clip, and then he, too, turned on his daughter with nearly the same fury Mellie had.

"Olivia, you can go." He waved his hand in her direction, and she started at the nonchalant way he had dismissed her, being completely unused to this treatment by him. But she left anyway, because, quite frankly, she was in no mood to be in the middle of the firestorm that was about to rain down on the young woman.

"What is that? What did you show him, Mom?" Charlotte was past nervous now. It seemed that even though she was an adult, and had been for two years, she still felt like a child whenever her parents were mad.

"Young lady, where were you last night?" Fitz was already yelling, and Charlotte paled at his question, knowing whatever he had seen on the phone, made him angrier at her then he'd ever been. But as she mulled the question over, something else sprang to her mind: the secret she'd been keeping for the past two years. And that knowledge allowed her to draw herself up, because no matter how mad they were going to get at her, they had no right to. She was the only one allowed to be mad at either of them.

"Enjoying myself?" Mellie puffed a long breath of air out of her mouth at that, shaking her head and smiling sardonically.

"Is that what it's called now? Getting drunk and making a public fool of yourself? 'Enjoying' yourself?" Mellie couldn't believe she was having this conversation with her eldest, the daughter she had thought would never trouble her. Karen was a different story, she was just like Fitz. But Charlotte, she was just like Mellie. Maybe, Mellie realized, that was exactly the problem. If Charlotte was acting out, maybe there was something behind it.

"Now you listen to me, Charlotte. None of this was appropriate or acceptable. You're not a child anymore, you can't behave in such a stupid way. You didn't behave like this even when you were a child. And you certainly cannot, under any circumstances, leave your security team like that, for your own safety. You'll stay here for a few days, and then I'll call Evan tonight and have them escort you back to school later, where you will remain until the semester ends." Fitz was completely business-like with his plan. To him this was all very simple, an open-and-shut case of discipline and return to normal, just like he always wanted it. But Charlotte found herself cringing at the mention of her head of security. The things she was keeping from her parents- she almost felt guilty. But then again, why should she? She wasn't the one who had betrayed someone she loves.

"Hold on Fitz, you don't need to be so harsh." Both Fitz and Charlotte turned to Mellie, with wide eyes. Fitz had always been the more lenient one of the two. Mellie gently seated herself on the couch, patting the cushion next to her for Charlotte to sit on. Mellie wanted to figure out just what was really going on. Charlotte sat, but she made sure there was a few inches between herself and her mother. "How's school?"

"Fine."

"Are you still friends with those two girls? Tammy and Casey?"

"Amy and Stacey, Mom. And no." Charlotte was in no mood to play catch-up with her mother. Actually, she was in no mood to have any contact whatsoever with her mother. Fitz, she would gladly talk to, about anything frivolous, that is. Daughters always have a special connection with their fathers, no matter how mad they are with him. Mothers, on the other hand, are a different story. And at the moment, Charlotte wanted to be as far from Mellie as possible, so she didn't explode with anger. "Look, can I just go to my room or something?"

"I'm just trying to talk to you. You did something stupid last night, and I'm angry, yes, but I haven't seen you in months-"

"And whose fault is that?" There goes the explosion. "I'm in Pennsylvania, not on a different planet. Dad hardly ever gives the 'OK' for me to come home, and neither one of you ever makes an effort to come visit. I'm still alive, you know, I still exist. Jerry's dead, not me." Mellie and Fitz drew back at the mention of their dead son, in such a harsh way. There was no time for them to react, however, because Charlotte kept on ranting.

"I'm a living, breathing person, who sometimes feels like it would be nice if her parents visited sometimes, and wishes they hadn't turned her entire life into a public shit show. Who sometimes gets scared, and feels alone, and just needs her damn parents. But then, I guess, power is more important to both of you then I ever will be."

"Charlotte, that is not-"

"We would never-" Both of her parents were cut off by Charlotte's loud, dramatic, and forceful exit, as she walked as fast as she could, down the halls of the White House, and to her room, before the tears and snot burst through the dam she had created. Her parents didn't understand what her anger was really about, but she sure did. She just wished she had the guts to actually confront them about it. But at the moment, she was more worried about what would happen tonight, when Evan came. She hadn't exactly told him she was leaving, and with Fitz so angry, Evan and his team would probably face his wrath. Which meant Evan would blame Charlotte, and it would create a huge problem for her that night.


	3. Chapter 3

Charlotte had been right. The next morning, she was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, trying in vain to conceal the bruise around her eye. She had been working for ten minutes, and the purple discoloration was still all-too visible, to her eye only. At least she was able to cover the finger marks on her shoulder with a strategically chosen blouse. There was a knock on the door, and she started violently, upsetting the makeup she had set out before herself. Six months ago, she would have laughed at herself for being so scared by a knock. Nowadays, however, that knock all too often screamed danger for her, and meant the rest of the night would be a waking nightmare. The problem was, Charlotte had no idea how to get out. She loved Evan, she really did. She just didn't like the person he had become. And besides that, she couldn't ask Fitz to assign her a new agent, because that would mean explaining to him how she had broken the rules, more severely than she had ever done before.

A second knock sounded, but this time it was followed by the door opening. Charlotte knew there was only one person who would have opened the door without her permission, and he was the last person she wanted to see at the moment. But, when she turned from the mirror, ever so slowly, to face the person standing in her bathroom doorway, he was exactly who she expected.

"Good morning babe," Evan's smile was precisely what had caused her to fall for him in the first place. She had thought it screamed protection, and eventually love, but what it really screamed was control and danger. He flashed this exact smile in her direction, looming over her as she set down the concealer container, not wanting to look at him.

"Morning," Charlotte was normally not one to mumble. She spoke in a high, clear, and loud voice. She always had. But something about Evan, his presence, made her lose her voice. She stared intently at his shiny black shoes, taking in the perfect crease in his pants. He placed a gentle hand under her chin, but she flinched all the same as he raised her face to lock eyes, his green on her brown. His voice was gentle as he kissed her cheek, whispering in her ear.

"I'm sorry baby. You know I won't hurt you. I just needed to make sure you knew how much trouble you got me in." Her nod was almost imperceptible, as his hot breath blew on her ear. Moments like these, where he was so kind, and gentle, and caring, made her think he really did love her. He only wanted what was best. But, she reminded herself, that was not how she felt last night.

"I should get going. I have breakfast with my parents in ten minutes." She released herself from his grip, and moved as quickly as she could towards the door.

"Hey, Char?" She turned at the sound of his voice, still drawn to him against her best instincts.

"Yea?"

"Your makeup looks hot. Kinda makes me wanna take those clothes off of you." Her breath hitched when he said that, and she almost worried he would act on his instinct. When he didn't move toward her immediately, she smiled lightly, wanting to diffuse the hunger she could see darkening his eyes, and tilted her head.

"Later." With that, she moved out of the room, and down the hallway, hoping she looked okay, and worrying about the promise she had just made.

Across town, Mellie lay awake in her bed, almost dreading having to go to the White House for the breakfast she and Fitz had decided to have. Truth be told, she really did not want to see her ex-husband two times in two days, but they had both agreed that the breakfast would benefit their daughter. Ever since Jerry's death, her kids had become more important to Mellie than ever. It almost made her sad, that the four of them hadn't been her priority before, and it had taken a tragedy to force her to be the mother they deserved. But she knew now that she needed to be there for them no matter what. Apparently she hadn't been doing that enough for Charlotte, but that was all about to change. She had a proposition to bring up at breakfast, and she hoped to God that Charlotte would agree. Something was not right with her baby girl, and Mellie wanted her close, so she could keep an eye on her, and hopefully help her some.

Mellie's thoughts were interrupted by Marcus turning gently towards her on his side of the bed, just now waking up. She smiled down at his sleepy face, and he looked up at her, and managed a half-smile that was bogged down with sleep. She laughed.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," She ran a careful hand through his short hair, and watched as his eyes closed in comfortable bliss.

"G'morning sexy." She giggled like a schoolgirl when he called her that, hardly believing that anyone could think she was sexy, since Lord knew Fitz and Andrew hadn't made her feel that way. But Marcus did, and that was part of why she found herself so completely infatuated by him. That, and the fact that he was the only man who really knew how to handle her attitude. She had found, in the short time they'd been dating, that she was slowly opening herself up to him, a little more every day. He didn't know everything about her, and she was sure she didn't know everything about him, but he knew what she was comfortable telling him. Before the first time they had sex, she had surprised herself by telling him about the rape. He had been so kind, letting her cry into his shoulder, as they sat on her bed, both in their underwear. He hadn't wanted to sleep with her that night, fearing it would stir up a terror in her he couldn't protect her from. She, however, had insisted, and he surprised her by being so gentle, she felt safer than she ever had.

"Have you been awake long?" She was drawn out of her reverie once again, to find him watching her with an eagle eye. She knew he was worried she was going somewhere dark, so she squelched his fear by snuggling up against him in her thin nightgown, and kissing his coffee colored chest.

"A little while." His hand wrapped around her waist, and the other stroked her hair, as her took in her wonderful morning smell.

"Go back to sleep. You still have an hour before the alarm." His voice was so soft in her ear, she wanted to do as he said. But she knew her thoughts would never let her sleep now.

"I wouldn't be able to. There's too much on my mind." She felt him smile gently in her hair, and for a moment, she couldn't figure out just what he was smiling at. But then, the hand he had around her waist slowly moved down her hip, to toy with the edge of her nightgown. He drew small circles on her porcelain thigh, making her shiver delicately.

"I can help with that." His hand moved up and under her nightgown, feeling for the top of her panties. He found what he was searching for, and slowly drew them down her legs.

"I think I do need your help."

Mellie rolled over onto her back, opening her legs as his hand slowly made its journey back up her leg. He moved himself so he was hovering over her, his other hand supporting himself near her breast, so his thumb could stroke her through the nightgown material. She inhaled sharply as his other hand found its destination, teasing her opening before he gently pushed two fingers inside of her. One of her hands rubbed the muscles on his chest and abdomen, and her other hand pulled his boxers down his leg, as his fingers continued to make her insides twitch. Their eyes made contact, and he didn't look away from her as he felt her up through the nightgown material. After another moment, he was frustrated that he couldn't touch her breasts, as those were his favorite part of her body.

"Off," The word was barely audible, but Mellie knew exactly what he wanted, and pulled her nightgown over her head rather unceremoniously. His mouth immediately went to make contact with both of her breasts, and she arched her back in immense pleasure. The two continued in this way until her alarm went off, annoying them with the break in their own private paradise.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So I know I've been a little MIA lately (ok... a LOT MIA I'm sorry!) Because I was so rude to all you lovely readers for so long, here's two chapters in one night! And also, a short little thank you (one of many, many to come) to all of you who are reading this little story of mine, because you guys are why I write! So, read, review, critique (kindly, please) and hopefully enjoy! Kisses!

The table had been set with the good china, and a beautiful white lace tablecloth, when Mellie arrived. She found Fitz and Charlotte already seated, silent as the night. Mellie sat across from her daughter, slightly annoyed the Fitz had taken the head of the table, but reminded herself that this was his home, not hers anymore. Fitz gave her a half-hearted smile as she sat down, and Mellie was glad he was trying this for their daughter. He didn't want to see her anymore than she wanted to see him. Charlotte, on the other hand, didn't bother to even give her mother a glance. Something about the way she sat, silent and hunched over, disturbed Mellie. No matter what, Charlotte was still her daughter, and Mellie knew her daughter very well. And this behavior was not normal for Charlotte. Something was seriously wrong, and it worried Mellie. But she couldn't force Charlotte to tell her anything. The most she could do was to be calm and diplomatic, and hope her daughter decided to trust her.

"So, how did you sleep, Charlotte?" Mellie forced a smile on her face and into her voice, hoping to catch her daughter's eye.

"Fine." Charlotte took a breath, conscious of her mother's eyes watching her. Fitz was looking at Mellie, curious at the change in her persona from yesterday.

"Well, good. You're wearing a lot of makeup, sweetie. You have such a pretty face, why do you want to hide it like that?" Mellie meant well. She was simply trying, in her own way, to compliment her daughter. She did not understand what she was putting Charlotte through with her words.

"I just like it this way." Charlotte fought the urge to cover her face.

"As long as you like it. Fitz, did you call Evan?" Mellie's perceptive eyes were still on her daughter, even as she spoke to Fitz, and she did not miss the slight shiver that captured her daughter's body when she mentioned the agent. For the life of her, though, she had no idea why.

"Yes, he came last night. Charlotte will leave tomorrow." Fitz was able to catch Charlotte's eye before Mellie, and gave her a comforting smile. "School will be good for you, baby. You're so smart."

Mellie cleared her throat gently, gaining the attention of the other two.

"Actually, I wanted to talk about that with you two. Charlotte, you're a grown girl. Your father and I can't force you to do anything anymore. And I get the feeling that you don't want to be at school, at least right now. So I was thinking, maybe you could come stay with me? If that's something you would want to do, that is." Mellie silently prayed that she would say yes. Call it mother's intuition, or just plain old gut instinct, but Mellie knew that Charlotte needed her mom right now, more than ever.

Charlotte, for her part, remained silent as she mulled over her mother's offer. The other two at the table didn't realize it, but her head was bubbling over with thoughts surrounding the entire situation, and what she knew. Did she really want to move in with her mother without getting the truth first? But that was the thing. She hadn't gotten the truth for twenty years. So she couldn't expect one of her parents to suddenly burst forth in a moment of honesty and tell her everything. She knew something, but she needed answers. And yet, her mother's offer meant safety. She hadn't wanted to go away to college in the first place, at least not so soon, anyways. But now, more than that, living with her mother meant that she could get away from Evan. He couldn't do anything to her when her mother was in the next room.

"Mellie, Charlotte needs structure right now-"

"She is a big girl, Fitz, let her make her own decisions. Do not force a future that she does not want upon her, the way you did to me."

"I didn't force anything on you. You wanted power-"

"I wanted you to be happy-"

"Can you guys please stop?" Charlotte raised her voice, exasperated with hearing the fight she was so used to, again. For once, she wanted her parents to make this situation about her, because it was. Mellie and Fitz had stopped, turning to their daughter, both feeling extreme guilt, Mellie more so than Fitz. For the first time that morning, Charlotte made eye contact with Mellie, wanting to be extremely clear on what she said next, so she was understood. This would change everything.

Mellie breathed a sigh of thanks when her daughter finally looked up at her, and that sigh instantly turned to a mixture of fear and anger when she saw what was swimming in her daughter's eyes. There was an immense pain there, a pain that had been absent yesterday.

"Mom, I think," Charlotte took a shaky breath before continuing. "I think I would like that. You're right, I don't- I don't want to be at school right now." Charlotte enunciated with extreme clarity, in a way that was reminiscent of Mellie,

"But first, I have to know something." Charlotte begged herself to remain stoic, and not to cry. The words rushed out, the only way Charlotte knew she could voice her knowledge at all. "I had to take a biology course when I first started college, as a prerequisite. I hadn't paid much attention in high school, but about halfway through the course, the professor started talking about DNA, and genes, and dominant and recessive ones. And…"

Charlotte drew in a breath, feeling the tension in the room rising. She took a moment, to look both of her parents in the eyes, one at a time. She took in Fitz's confused icy blue ones, and then Mellie's guilty and apologetic ones, blue as the ocean. Then, Charlotte's golden brown eyes settled on her hands, folded on top of the table, strong. She reassured herself, and continued.

"There are two genes for eye color. Blue eyes are recessive, so a person has to have both genes code for blue eyes in order to have blue eyes. And each parent passes one of these genes to the child." Charlotte's voice was becoming steadier. She knew she was getting to the punch line of her sad little joke, waiting to hear the gasps as her parents realized just what she had figured out, all because of the college they had forced her to go to. Mellie stood up from the table, and began to pace. She knew exactly where this was going, and she was in no way ready for it. Charlotte was so smart, Mellie should have prepared herself for this moment. But somehow, she had deluded her mind into believing she could keep up the deceit forever. She laid a hand on her temple, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to figure out just what she could say. Fitz simply sat there, looking rather confused and lost, staring at Charlotte, without a glimmer of understanding in his eyes. Charlotte continued, aware that Mellie knew what was coming, but needing to say it.

"Blue eyes plus blue eyes equals blue eyes." Mellie shook her head hard, and looked at Charlotte, almost begging her, with those deep blue eyes, to put this away, lock it up, and throw away the key. But Charlotte couldn't do that. "I don't have blue eyes."

There it was. She had put it out there, and could never take it back. Mellie steadied herself, and walked towards her baby girl, heart breaking. Fitz looked at Charlotte, and finally breathed out a sound of understanding. He rubbed a hand over his face, and looked up at the ceiling, possibly begging some God for help, possibly in shock that they'd been caught. Mellie knelt down next to Charlotte, who, once again, would not look her in the eyes. She placed a hand over the two laying in Charlotte's lap, holding back tears. This was not the way she had imagined telling her daughter the truth.

"I'm so sorry." Charlotte grimaced, shaking her head. That apology did not make up for twenty years of lies.

"So then who are my parents? Neither one of you?"

"We're both your parents." Fitz nearly exploded. His anger was not directed towards Charlotte, but more towards the thought of losing her. She, however, did not understand that, and closed her eyes against the assault. She remained that way until Mellie's motherly hand wiped away the tear that had managed to escape.

"Your father means that we both raised you, so we're still your parents. You aren't adopted, but Fitz just wasn't the man who gave you half of your DNA. But that does not change the fact that he is your father. And I am your mother." As much as it pained Mellie to admit this to her daughter, and untangle the web of lies she had created, she was also relieved. She wanted so badly to be done with the secrets and lies that D.C. forced a person to create.

"So you're still my mom, and I just have a different dad." The words came out slowly, as if Charlotte's mouth was full of sludge. Fitz opened his mouth to protest again, feeling as if he was losing his daughter, but Mellie raised a single hand to silence him. Now was not the time.

"Yes, baby." Mellie desperately needed to see Charlotte's expressive eyes. No matter how bad their relationship had become in the past two years, she still knew how to read her daughter. And she just wanted some sign that she hadn't lost another child. Charlotte did not want to look at her mom, fearing she might break completely. Instead, she got up and left the room.

"I need air," she mumbled, before breaking free and running through the hallways, into a random bathroom in the West Wing, now in need of a seat. She plopped herself on a toilet lid, finally allowing the breakdown to come, full force. Her mom was still her mom, just a liar, but her dad was no longer her dad. She couldn't handle that.

As Charlotte sobbed into her hands, Abby Whelan entered the bathroom, checking her makeup in the mirror and washing her hands. As she shut off the water, Charlotte's sobs became audible. Abby paused, cocking her head, and trying to decide if it was appropriate to ask whomever was in there if she was okay. Abby didn't have long to contemplate, because Charlotte emerged, tear-stained and energy-less, to wash her hands of the loss of control. She noticed Abby, smiling in part from manners, and in part from the embarrassment of being seen. Charlotte knew who Abby was, but what she didn't know was why Abby was looking at her so inquisitively. Everybody cries, even the badass press secretary. But Charlotte's inner query was answered when she glanced at herself in the mirror, and found that, in her fit, the makeup that she had so carefully caked on that morning was gone. The purple bruise around her eye was unmistakeable. Abby found her voice with Charlotte's recognition.

"Ms. Grant, is that… did someone… are you okay?" Abby knew that this was a delicate situation. She knew, from personal experience, exactly where Charlotte had gotten that bruise. She had had a few just like it during her marriage. If anyone had asked Abby, at that time, where her bruises came from, she would have excused herself from the conversation faster than a cheetah runs. She definitely did not want Charlotte to do that.

"I'm fine, thank you." Charlotte's answer was not rough, but it was quick. She tried to detach herself from the conversation and leave, but Abby boldly stepped in her way. She placed a firm hand on Charlotte's arm, taking a good look at the bruise.

"That bruise says otherwise. I've- I've been in the same situation as you… before. You just need to tell someone-"

"I'm not in any situation, but thank you for asking." Charlotte's repute was quick, and she again tried to make a break for the door. Abby kept her hand on Charlotte's arm, forcing her to stay.

"Ms. Grant, no one should ever hurt you… like that. I know it feels like you're stuck, and like you can't leave. You think you love him, and you think you deserve everything, but you don't deserve anything like that. You deserve safety, and happiness. It took me awhile to understand that, so please understand before it's too late." Abby was near pleading. Her heart was bleeding for this young woman. It didn't matter whose daughter you were, this could happen to anyone.

"Thank you for your concern, but I just ran into my door this morning. It's really nothing. Have a nice day, Ms. Whelan." With that, Charlotte managed to break herself free of the redhead's grip, and went to find herself a nice, quiet spot in the garden, where she could hopefully stop thinking for a little while.

Mellie was still reeling from the morning when she walked into Olivia's office. Marcus and Liv were the only ones there, and both could instantly tell something was wrong. They followed her with their eyes, as she sat down, wordless. She looked up to the window, taking in the plan they had come up to spin the story of her daughter's video in the campaign's favor. It appeared Liv's plan was to excuse Charlotte's actions by claiming that she was simply having trouble transitioning from childhood to adulthood in the public eye. Mellie almost laughed at how stereotypical that would make her daughter seem, but she trusted Liv to know what was right.

"What happened?" Olivia, as always, was first to break into Mellie's quiet. She sat half her body on the table beside Mellie, arms crossed, ready for whatever was coming. Marcus sweetly came to wrap a loving arm around Mellie's shoulders, squeezing her to his side in a comforting manner. Mellie just shook her head in a way that showed she was both near tears, and laughing at the supposed hilarity of the situation.

"She knows." Mellie's words were met with confused looks from both Olivia and Marcus.

"Knows what?" Olivia's question was slow, almost as if she didn't want to know that answer.

"Fitz never told you?" Mellie was shocked that Fitz hadn't shared this part of his life with his glorious love. Olivia tilted her head questioningly, betraying her answer. The old Mellie would have been overjoyed at this little victory of knowledge, but at the moment, Mellie was just annoyed that she would have to explain.

"Charlotte's not his daughter." For a moment, no one spoke, taking in the earth-splitting information in a calm manner. "I was pregnant when we met. Her father… well obviously he couldn't raise her. Fitz was so great back then. He said we could just raise her as our own. We always meant to tell her the truth, there was just never a time. She was too little to understand, and then she was too attached, and then the whole country thought we were the perfect family. And then we just thought we'd never have to tell her. If only it wasn't for that damn school!"

"Do you think that she'd tell the press?" Mellie's was outraged by Olivia's question. The campaign was nowhere near her thoughts. What was important right now was her family. But she also knew the answer to Olivia's question.

"No, she wouldn't. She doesn't want them to know anything about her. This won't hurt the campaign, Liv. But it might destroy my daughter, did you think of that?" Olivia actually hadn't, but she didn't have a chance to answer, because Mellie stormed out, with the same dramatic flair as her daughter.

As soon as the elevator doors close, Olivia got busy making a contingency plan, just in case Mellie was wrong. Marcus stared at the closed doors, wondering if he should go to her, or give her space. Mellie was hard to figure out, it was almost as if she changed her mind daily on whether or not she needed space. Liv snapped him into action, however, and he decided that space would be best for now.


	5. Chapter 5

Mellie was bent over the desk in her office, trying to distract herself with her senatorial duties. It wasn't working. Her mind kept floating back to Charlotte, mulling over every little detail of the morning's events, trying to find a way to fix what she had done. She caught herself, realizing that, once again, she was placing all the blame on herself. She and Fitz had done this, together. They had both kept their daughter out of the public eye, they had both lied to her, she hadn't done any of this alone. But she would let him wriggle himself out of this hole alone. She wasn't going to give him help anymore. As she tried to wrap her brain around some sort of plan, there was a light rap on her door.

"Come in," she called in irritation. Her secretary popped her head in the door, half in, half out.

"Abby Whelan is here to see you." Mellie rolled her eyes. She didn't need Fitz sending her his dog at the moment.

"Tell her I'm busy." Mellie bent back over her work, but looked up when the door didn't shut.

"See, I told her that." Her secretary spoke with timidity. Mellie was terrifying when she was angered. "She said she couldn't go away. It's about your daughter."

Mellie let go of a long, slow breath through her nose. She knew Fitz was just trying to dig himself out of his daughter's angry pit by using her, and he wasn't even brave enough to come in person.

"Fine. Send her in. But tell her to be quick." Mellie sat back as Abby entered, putting on an air of carelessness, and hoping to encourage the redhead to be fast.

"Hi, Senator Grant," her tone was uncomfortable. Clearly, she didn't want to be here any more than Mellie wanted her.

"What does he want now?" Mellie wasn't going to deal with formalities at the moment.

"Actually, the President didn't send me."

"Than what, may I ask, are you doing here?"

"Well, see, I was in the bathroom this morning, and I ran into your daughter. She was very upset-"

"That's none of your business." Mellie was pissed that this woman had come all the way to her office just to pry into her private business.

"Yes, I know. I'm not here because of why she was crying. It's actually, well," Abby took a deep breath. She had no idea how to tell a mother her daughter was being abused. She only knew she couldn't have told the President. He would have lost his mind, and he was too busy to set time aside for a mental break. It was much better to come to Mellie. She would deal with the situation in a much more effective way, and hopefully save Charlotte. "There was a bruise, around her eye, and she told me it was from a door, but it didn't look like something from a door, and she doesn't appear that clumsy, but when I asked her about it, she-"

"Would you please cut to the chase?" Mellie tried to sound harsh, but she couldn't disguise the worry in her voice. Abby was right, for once. Her daughter wasn't clumsy.

"I know where those kinds of bruises come from. I've seen them myself, thanks to my ex-husband. They don't come from doors." Mellie's breathing hitched with fear and anger. Now she was the one who needed someone to come out and say what was on their mind. The conclusion she was jumping to was harrowing. Abby looked Mellie directly in the eye. "Someone is hitting your daughter, Senator Grant."

Mellie held Abby's stare, and a million different emotions passed through her eyes. Abby actually felt bad for the senator. The heartbreak she could see was something Abby would wish on no one.

"Are you sure?"

"Completely."

Mellie had quit work for the day. There was something much more important than deciding the lunch budget for state staff going on. Her emotions were all over the place, but she was mainly going back and forth between a primal, mother-bear anger, and a deep horror. How could she not know? There must have been so many signs. If she had only paid more attention, she would have known. If only she'd looked a little harder, she could have protected her daughter. Mellie kept playing the blame game with herself, and yet tried desperately not to revert to the dark place she went to when she put her own self at fault for all the wrong. What kind of a mother let this happen to her child? Mellie was afraid to answer her question.

After hours of sitting in a chair, wrapped up in her thoughts, hugging her knees and trying not to dissolve into a puddle of tears, Mellie couldn't take any more sitting. She had to act. Charlotte was so mad at her right now, Mellie was sure she wouldn't want to talk. But, Mellie realized, that's what it is to be a mother. You do things your kids don't like, when it benefits them. And Charlotte was no longer going to be someone's victim. Mellie had spent enough time as that herself, she had to save her daughter from that fate. With that realization, Mellie hoisted herself up and called a car. She was headed to the White House.

Charlotte had spent her quiet time in the garden, but she couldn't silence her thoughts. For hours, her mind spun, until she couldn't take it anymore. She snuck through the halls and into her room, and got herself ready to go out, wanting to try to forget who she was for the night. Her makeup was flawless as she sat in a robe on the bed, lost in thought and fantasy.

In her mind, she could be someone completely different later tonight. She could be a farm girl from Kentucky, or an aspiring law student, or maybe a stripper from Las Vegas. Someone whose life was wonderful and carefree, and her own. Charlotte's life wasn't her own. She wasn't even the person she'd thought she was. Knowing the truth, privately, for two years was vastly different than hearing confirmation from her mom. As her thoughts drifted to her mom, knuckles tapped softly on the door to the bedroom. That wasn't Evan's knock, at least.

"I'm trying to take a nap." Her voice was hobbled with despair, despite her efforts to lift her own spirits with fantasies.

"Charlotte, can I come in, please?" And with the sound of her mother's voice, Charlotte's spirits fell even farther.

"Not tonight Mom, please," Mellie cringed at the sound of her daughter begging her to leave her alone. But she wasn't leaving.

"Charlotte, I'm coming in whether you give me permission or not, I was just trying to be polite," Mellie waited a few moments for an answer. She heard none, so she carefully opened the door, taking in the room. Charlotte was on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees. At least she was making direct eye contact with Mellie, looking up at her with sad Bambi eyes. Mellie's heart broke even further. She made no sound either, just padded across the room, and placed herself inches from her daughter. A hesitant hand reached out to rub Charlotte's leg. At the touch, Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her head. She used to starve for her mother's touch, wanting the love she saw her friends get. It hurt that she only got it now because Mellie didn't want her to be mad. It hurt that love was always a manipulation with Mellie.

"I don't really want to talk to you right now. It's just… it's too much, Mom." Charlotte hated how childish she sounded, but she couldn't disguise it. All she wanted right now was her mom, except her mom was the one who had hurt her.

"I know, baby. We don't have to talk about it right now. We will eventually, though, I pray. Just don't give up on me, ok?" Charlotte looked into her mother's eyes, searching for an ulterior motive, some political reason for this. She found none. Mellie knew exactly what her daughter was searching for, and the fact that she felt she even had to look made Mellie cringe. There was no changing the past, there was only the promise of a brighter future. Charlotte could tell her mother was sincere, and she felt a tiny bit hopeful that maybe they could still have a good relationship. But now was not the time for reparations.

"I'll try." For now, that was good enough for Mellie. They sat in silence for a moment, Mellie biting her lip, knowing that talking about the real reason she was here, in this moment, would be even more difficult than the conversation they had to have in the future. Her daughter was independent. Her daughter had grown up without her. But now, her daughter needed her, even if Charlotte didn't know it yet.

"Charlotte, can I-" Mellie stopped herself. She had no idea how to approach this. Mellie wasn't exactly the most gentle person.

As Charlotte waited for Mellie to finish the sentence, she looked at her mother, as Mellie stared at her hands. Charlotte saw her mother locked in some sort of inner fight, her brows furrowed in concentrated as she twisted her hands. Charlotte felt her heart rate pick up slightly, in nervous anticipation of whatever her mother was going to say. They had both just agreed to talk about what happened that morning a different day, so Charlotte was lost as to what her mother was so nervous about bringing up.

Mellie steeled herself, deciding that the best way to open up this conversation was to explain to Charlotte something about herself first.

"Before your brother was born, Big Jerry came to stay with your father and I for a few days, during the campaign. You were so little, about four, I don't think you'll remember. Anyways, one night, after we put you down to sleep, your father went to bed. He had a, uh, speech the next day, I believe. So Big Jerry and I were sitting on the couch, and he was drinking more than usual. We were talking, and then he became a little too inebriated. I had always known he thought I was pretty, but that night he…" Mellie cleared her throat. She didn't want to cry right now, but there would never be a time where telling this to someone, even her daughter, wouldn't be difficult. Her next words were barely above a whisper, and she couldn't bring herself to look at Charlotte as she said them. "He raped me."

Charlotte sat in shocked silence for a moment, reeling from what her mother was saying. As she looked up at Mellie, hunched over, face twisted in pain, Charlotte felt as if she had a much better understanding of who Mellie was. All Charlotte wanted to do was hold her mother, switch places for a moment and take care of her. Mellie looked so broken, and Charlotte's heart shattered as she thought about what Mellie must have gone through. She gingerly reached out, covering Mellie's hands with her own in a way that mirrored Mellie's actions that morning. Charlotte felt tears coming on, and so stood from the bed, facing aways from Mellie. For a split second after she stood up, Mellie almost thought her daughter was going to leave her, in disgust. But then, Charlotte faced Mellie once more, as composed as she could be.

"I'm so sorry, Mama." Mellie looked at her daughter through a lens of tears, smiling at the name Charlotte had called her as a child. She, too, stood, crossing over to Charlotte, and grasping her hand. They shared a look, telling each other everything that needed to be said. Charlotte leaned forward, allowing herself to be wrapped in the comfort of a mother's embrace.

"I know how it feels to be victimized by something you can't control. But you are worth so much more than that. No one, _no one_ , has the right to control you." Mellie's voice had found its strength once more, trying to assure Charlotte that she was here, and that it all would be okay. But Charlotte pulled back, as if Mellie's words were bee stings. She stepped across the room quickly, her eyes showing fear and panic. Mellie's mentally kicked herself, worrying she had come on too strong and caused Charlotte to shut down, ruining the open dialogue they had been creating. Charlotte shook her head forcefully, causing Mellie to question who Charlotte was convincing, Mellie or herself.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Charlotte couldn't make eye contact. How did she know? Charlotte hadn't been careful enough, something had slipped. Her mind raced, trying to figure out where she had gone wrong. If Evan found out… She didn't want to think of that. Then, Charlotte realized. That whiny little redhead must have told Mellie.

Mellie stepped toward Charlotte carefully, gut twisting as Charlotte stumbled back again. Mellie stopped, giving Charlotte space, and trying to wordlessly communicate that she was here. That she would stay here.

"Yes, you do. Charlotte, please-"

"I don't! You-, you're not," Charlotte forced herself to calm down, to try and seem rational so her mom would stop asking questions. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, about what Big Jerry did. He was so wrong, and he hurt you, and I hate him for that. And for whatever reason you decided to tell me, I'm glad you did. But if you told me because you think that something similar is happening to me, or happened, or whatever it is, you're wrong. I swear, Mom, I'm fine." Charlotte was desperately trying to set her face into the perfect mask of empathy, denial and confusion. A piece of her wanted to come out and tell her mother, to be held and comforted and protected. But her mind overtook her heart, telling her that if Mellie knew, she could lose Evan, or he could lose his temper. She didn't know which was worse.

"Charlotte, baby," Mellie decided it was safe to approach her daughter, leaving a few feet between them. She looked straight into Charlotte's golden brown eyes, needing to save her daughter. "I know someone is hitting you. And whatever you think, whatever reason you have for hiding it, you don't need to. No one is angry. Not with you. I just want to help you. Please let me help you."

Charlotte looked at Mellie, shaking her head. Her mask fell away, and it took everything Charlotte had not to let all the lies and pain go. But she didn't.

"I don't need your help." Charlotte tried to turn, but Mellie reached out and grabbed her arm. As Charlotte yanked her arm back, the bathrobe fell away from the spot where her neck met her shoulder, revealing the long bruises, like fingers, that she had been hiding. Charlotte didn't realize what happened until she felt Mellie's death grip loosen, and heard her mother gasp.

"Oh my God, Charlotte."

Charlotte turned to meet her mother's horrified eyes, her expression twisted in a deep pain. For Mellie, there was a difference between knowing what was happening, and seeing the result of her daughter's pain. Those were _finger_ marks. He had grabbed her child hard enough to leave purple bruises on her delicate skin. Charlotte couldn't bear to stay in Mellie's presence any longer, she was suddenly so ashamed. Charlotte pushed against Mellie's hand, only to have her other hand grabbed. Mellie desperately clung to her child, needing her to stay right where Mellie could watch her, and protect her.

"Baby, stop-"

"No, you don't understand. Just let go. You don't get it!" With that, Charlotte broke free, rushing towards the bathroom door.

"Charlotte, wait!" Mellie tried to stop her daughter, but Charlotte slammed the door in Mellie's face. Mellie heard the lock click, and laid her forehead against the door.

Charlotte crumpled to the floor in despair, dry sobbing heavily. She stayed that way the rest of the night, eventually falling asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Charlotte woke up in a twisted position, and her neck immediately hurt from the bad sleeping place. Slowly, she stood up, turning to look at herself in the mirror. Her mascara had run down her face, the bruise now clear under the makeup's sheen, and her lipstick had smeared, making her lips appear twice their size. Her robe was completely off both shoulders, The bruises just as purple, just as prominent, as they were the night before. She stared at herself in the mirror, stared hard at the disheveled mess that had somehow become her, searching for the girl she used to be. The happy girl, with great parents, if a little crazy. The shining star of the high school cheerleading team, the girl who sang at rallies and aced every test. The girl who used to enjoy music, and dancing, and laughing, and singing with her mom. The girl who used to talk to her mom. No matter how hard Charlotte searched, that girl was nowhere to be found. Somehow, in this mess called life, that girl had disappeared. The girl Charlotte saw staring back at her looked broken, and messy, and lifeless. Completely and utterly lifeless. She skimmed her hand across her bruised skin, wondering when she had become this.

Charlotte dropped her robe, turning on the shower to its hottest setting. As she stepped into the steamy water, her makeup washed away, and she watched the colors swirl down the drain. She wrapped her arms around her thin body, bending over as the water rushed around her. She didn't get out until her skin was bright red and burning.

She stepped gingerly onto cold tile, retied her robe, and unlocked the bedroom door. Charlotte paused before opening it, trying to figure out whether or not she wanted her mother to still be there. She doubted Mellie would have stayed, so it didn't matter much anyways. But when she opened the door, she was surprised to find a sleeping Mellie laid out on the floor, still in last night's outfit. For a moment, Charlotte cursed herself for not covering the bruises, but then remembered her mother knew already. As she stared at Mellie, asleep in what could not have been a very comfortable position, she realized that she had been secretly hoping her mom had stayed for her. And she was thankful Mellie did.

In her sleep, Mellie could feel eyes watching her, and gently stirred before opening her own. She awoke to find her daughter staring at her intently, but Mellie couldn't quite pin down the emotions crossing Charlotte pretty face. She sat up, putting a hand to her messy hair, and smoothing the front of her skirt. She smiled at her daughter gently, not wanting to make the first move. The bruise around Charlotte's eye was clear as day now, and Mellie instinctively beckoned her closer. Charlotte did as her mother asked, sitting on the floor with her. Mellie reached out a shaky hand to the discolored skin on her daughter's face, a tear falling down her own delicate skin. Charlotte closed her own eyes, taking in an unbalanced breath.

"Who did this to you?" The question was barely more than a whisper when it left Mellie's lips. She wanted whoever did this to burn in hell for eternity. She wanted him to pay. And she wanted to do it herself. Charlotte bowed her head, struggling to find her words.

"I can't…" Mellie waited patiently as Charlotte tried to finish her thought. "You can't know."

"Charlotte-"

"I'm fine, Mom. I promise you. It was my fault. I messed up. I deserved it. It'll all be okay. It won't happen again." Mellie's stomach twisted at Charlotte's words. Somewhere, she had failed as a mother. Somewhere, she hadn't taught her daughter her own worth. Somewhere, she hadn't protected her child. That was on her. But she wasn't about to continue in that fashion. She grabbed Charlotte's hand in a tight grip, wanting her to know that Mellie wasn't letting go.

"Charlotte, look at me." Hazel eyes met sky blue, reluctantly and fearfully. "You never deserve anything like this. Nothing that you do gives a man the right to put his hands on you, to hit you and hurt you and cause you pain. You deserve the world. You deserve love, comfort, and happiness. This, no matter what you may think, is not love. This is so wrong. And I need you to see that, baby. I need you to see that, and talk to me, and tell me the truth. Talk to me, darling. Please." Mellie was a prideful woman. She was strong, and she did not beg. But here, in this moment, the desperation in her voice was begging Charlotte to open up.

Charlotte stared at their hands, joined in a tight grip. There was a piece of her that heard what Mellie was saying, and understood. That piece of Charlotte knew that this situation was wrong, that this wasn't really love. Love was happy, and gentle, and carefree, and sexy. But the other piece of Charlotte, the piece that had won every inner battle for the last two years, whispered that Mellie couldn't be trusted. That part whispered that Mellie was a conniving political animal, a selfish woman who would turn this in her favor at some point. There would be a tell-all interview, or a leaked document, or a "trusted source" would whisper in a reporter's ear. That piece of Charlotte sounded suspiciously like Evan. And so Charlotte pulled her hands away, crossing her arms at her chest, and sticking her chin out defiantly, in a rather Mellie-esque fashion.

"What do you want?" Mellie was taken aback by Charlotte's tone and question.

"Excuse me?" The look on Mellie's face was one of genuine confusion. She couldn't understand the sudden character flip her daughter had done. One minute they seemed okay, but now it was as if she was Charlotte's enemy.

"What. Do. You. Want? You never do anything without an ulterior motive. I sat and watched you and Dad for years as you two played your games and faked it for the American people. There was always a reason. You always got something out of it. So what are you getting now? Is this going to be some sort of campaign stunt? Is Liv going to splash my name and picture across the front of some magazine to get you the pity vote? Are my bruises going to make you President?" There was not an inch of give in Charlotte's voice or body. Mellie crumbled inside as she realized her daughter was completely serious. But, even worse, Mellie couldn't blame her. Charlotte was right. For the past eight years, everything about their life had been for the campaign. Everything they did, every family activity, none of which Charlotte partook in, had been for the campaign. And Mellie had been at the forefront of it all. So Charlotte had absolutely no reason to think that anything would be different.

But it was. For Mellie, everything was different. Divorcing Fitz, running for President, and becoming her own woman, had all made Mellie realize what was really important to her. She regretted not having a good relationship with Jerry, and she regretted not being able to make a good relationship with Karen, but Mellie and Charlotte had always been a pair. They had always gotten along, and been close. Maybe that was because having Charlotte really had been Mellie's choice. Jerry, Karen, and baby Teddy were all blessings, and Mellie loved them, but she hadn't _chosen_ to have them. Charlotte had come first. Charlotte was her choice. And all Mellie wanted at the moment was to prove that to her. She just didn't know how. Just when it seemed Charlotte was talking to her, that they were okay, something changed. Some switch had flipped in her brain and closed her off from Mellie, and Mellie had no idea how to flip the switch off again.

Mellie tilted her head so she could look directly into Charlotte's eyes. Hazel eyes rolled away, but Mellie brought a soft hand to Charlotte's chin, maintaining eye contact with gentle force. She took a moment, wanting Charlotte to see the honesty in her own eyes, before saying her piece.

"I understand that you do not trust me. I hate it, with every ounce of my being, but I understand it. And I am trying to fix that. But I need you to help me out here. If you are not listening to me, and trying to take in what I say, nothing will ever get better. If you don't want it to get better, fine, that's your prerogative. But I don't think that's what you want. I think you're just too scared to admit it to yourself, and to me. And that's okay. Take your time. But please, please baby, just know that none of this is a campaign stunt. I am your mother. I will always be your mother. And I wasn't there for you before. I should have been, but I wasn't, because I was too caught up in Fitz and the White House. But that is all changing. And I'm going to show you."

Charlotte said nothing, but from the softening in the lines of her body, Mellie could tell that she was really listening. And for now, that was all Mellie needed. So, she stood up, placing a loving kiss on the top of Charlotte's head, and left her daughter to her thoughts. The whole way home, Mellie was trying to figure out just who this guy was that Charlotte was so in love with. Now it was time to figure out how to move Charlotte into her house.


	7. Chapter 7

Olivia and Marcus sat in the boardroom, looking at the display they had created on the window.

"Do you think she'd go for it?" Olivia knew precisely how to handle the Charlotte situation, she always did, but she wasn't sure if Mellie would allow her to work her magic. Organizing Mellie's campaign was more gratifying than Olivia had expected it would be. Once the two of them had gotten past the whole Fitz issue, they found that they rather enjoyed each other's company, and worked well together. And yet, there were points of tension sometimes, between what Olivia knew would work for the campaign, and what Mellie actually wanted to do. And using her daughter as campaign leverage? While it was a good strategy, Olivia wasn't so sure Mellie would want to put her daughter in the spotlight. Most of the country probably didn't even realize Charlotte existed, and Olivia now knew why. Marcus shook his head.

"I don't really know in this case. We haven't spoken about her much at all." Olivia's question brought up a problem for Marcus. He hadn't wanted to push Mellie into talking about something if she didn't want to, but it hurt him just a little that she hadn't seemed to want to discuss Charlotte much with him. When he went to her place that morning, to take her to the office for another day of strategizing, she was just getting home, and wearing yesterday's clothes. When he asked her about it, she simply said she'd see him at the office, and they'd talk later. Then she went in the bathroom and shut the door. So, truth be told, he didn't think Mellie would want to bring her daughter into it, but the political side of him also knew that Charlotte could help Mellie get some of the hard-to-get votes: pro-lifers, single mothers, the young adults.

"Maybe," Olivia began slowly, turning over the idea in her head as she spoke. "We leak, anonymously of course, that Mellie had a child before she met Fitz. Not much more than that. And then, when the press inevitably asks for a statement from the Grant campaign, we spin it in our favor. We say that Mellie was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Charlotte's father left her alone, and she was scared, being so young, so she never told the press. She supports a woman's right to choose, of course, but she couldn't make that decision herself. That gets us the pro-life and the pro-choice sides. Then we say that Charlotte wasn't a secret, but she had asked her parents to keep her out of the public eye, for her own personal reasons. She does, however, support her mother in all of her endeavors. That could work well. We get ahead of the issue before some staffer at the White House leaks it, and turn it in our favor, control it." Olivia used her hands as she spoke, carefully, adding emphasis to each word. She was never out of control, each move of hers was measured and thought through, to add strength and effect to her character. The idea worked itself out as she spoke, turning into a thoroughly thought out plan that would do exactly what Olivia wanted.

Marcus understood Olivia's plan. It was actually quite brilliant. But he didn't think he could go behind Mellie's back like that. But if it helped her in the end, wasn't that a good deed on his part?

Olivia didn't really wait for an answer from Marcus, and instead, turned on her heel to make a few calls and get the ball rolling.

Charlotte knocked quietly on the door to the Oval, balancing the tray with sandwiches and chips on the other hand. She pushed open the door to see her father hard at work, bent over a paper he was reading, pen in one hand, the other propping his chin on the desk. He didn't look up until Charlotte was standing right in front of him. She set the lunch tray down on the desk, and awkwardly wrung her hands. They hadn't spoken since breakfast yesterday. This was new territory for them both.

"The secretary said you hadn't eaten anything today, so I thought I'd bring you some food." Fitz looked at the sandwiches, smiling for the first time in days. Charlotte's gut felt heavy with a feeling she could not describe when she saw that smile. People used to tell her she had her father's smile. As she looked at Fitz, she realized that the truth was, she had nothing of his. She wasn't even really his daughter. Fitz stood up, gesturing for both of them to sit on his couch. The room was silent, save for the sound of their chewing. The pair had always been able to just sit, without talking. Charlotte was a daddy's girl. But as of now, everything felt different, for both of them.

"I just want you to know," Fitz started unusually quietly, not glancing at Charlotte, "That I have known you weren't genetically mine for twenty years. But none of that ever mattered. I watched your birth. I raised you. I held you when you cried, I saw you off on your first date. I did all the things a father should do. You are my daughter, in all the ways that matter." Silent tears fell down Fitz's face. Charlotte had never seen her father cry.

"I know. It's just... Shocking. It's like my life turned upside down in three seconds." Charlotte set her half eaten sandwich back on the tray, and pulled her knees to her chest.

Fitz felt that their conversation was over. The two of them had never needed many words. He stood, and grasped Charlotte in the kind of bear hug only a father can give.

"No matter what, you are always my daughter." Charlotte nodded into his chest, and stood to leave. As she reached the door, she turned back to tell Fitz one last thing.

"Also, I decided I'm going to stay with Mom. I think school can wait." Charlotte always knew the exact time to hit her father with news of something she knew he wouldn't agree with.

"Whatever you want honey," Fitz nodded his unneeded assent. No matter what he said, Charlotte still would have done what she wanted. She always did.

That evening, Charlotte crouched in her room, attempting to zip up a suitcase that was spilling over with clothes. She stalked around it a few times, eyeing the zipper as if it was prey. Then, she threw herself across the top in a rather unladylike fashion, and tugged the zipper all the way around, breathing a sigh of relief as she felt metal hit rough cloth. For a second, she just lay there, exhausted from the effort she had expelled trying to zip up one suitcase.

"Maybe I should start packing a little lighter," she mused to herself.

"I doubt you could handle that." Charlotte jumped as Evan's voice assaulted her ears, turning to look at him, still upside down.

"Evan! What are you doing?"

"Well," Evan began to creep further into the room as Charlotte sat up on the suitcase. "I was just given orders from the President to come help you move your things into your mother's house, as apparently you'll be staying with her now." Evan's words were sweet with venom as he reached his destination, pulling Charlotte off of the suitcase to meet his eyes.

"I meant to tell you, I swear. It's just that I hadn't seen you today at all so-"

"Babe, did it occur to you that I might get pulled off your detail now?" Actually, that thought hadn't occurred to Charlotte, but she had to admit, that didn't sound like the worst thing. And she immediately hated herself for thinking that. She loved this man, she did, she was just… terrified of him.

"No, Evan, I don't think that's gonna happen. It's just a different circumstance, that's all. We'll still be together." Charlotte was grasping at straws, because she saw that malicious gleam in Evan's eye that usually signaled danger. But suddenly, his eyes softened, and he bent his head forward to kiss her roughly.

"Better not," he whispered into her lips. "Because you know I love you, right?" Charlotte simply nodded against his mouth. It was things like these, like his buttery soft lips against hers, that made her stay. His hand traveled south to take a firm hold on her ass, and he deepened the kiss, just as a voice interrupted them.

"Miss, are you ready to go?" Charlotte and Evan jumped apart like they were on fire, as the agent paused in the doorway, careful not to make a big deal out of what she had just seen. Charlotte simply nodded quickly, pointing towards her suitcase for Evan to grab, one of few moments of dominance she was allowed. The agent, on her part, filed away the information to tell her boss later, not knowing the bomb she would set off in doing so.

Charlotte knocked on the door of her mother's house, with Evan carrying only her heavily stuffed suitcase. She would have her stuff all sent from college. Evan was behind her, a warning hand placed on her back. He hadn't been too happy when he got orders to move Charlotte into her mother's house. It likely meant he would be placed off of her detail, because Mellie would want to choose her own agents to stalk around the property, following Charlotte. But he also needed to make sure Charlotte wouldn't ask for a detail switch to parallel her housing switch.

To Charlotte's surprise, a man answered the door. The man in question was Marcus, but she didn't know that yet. Maybe she should have called Mellie before coming over, but she figured Mellie would be home. It was nighttime after all. Charlotte looked the man up and down. He wasn't Secret Service. Evan stepped back to a more polite distance, not wanting to be caught too close to the President's daughter, again.

"Who are you?" Charlotte had never been the most polite person.

"Uh, Marcus. You, um, you're Charlotte."

"Yea. I still don't know who you are, Marcus." Charlotte narrowed her eyes at the guy, who looked like he was either terrified of her or extremely nervous. He was actually just nervous. He'd never dated anyone with a kid before, and had no idea how to go about meeting one. Mellie's voice floated from inside the house, growing closer and louder.

"Honey, who's at the-" Mellie came around the corner and stopped in her tracks as she saw the answer to her unfinished question. "Charlotte! I didn't know you were coming!" Mellie was shocked to see her daughter, as she thought that after that morning, it would take Charlotte a good long while before actually moving in, if she did at all.

"Sorry, I figured it would be ok."

"Of course it's ok! Come in!" Evan moved to enter the house, but Marcus reached to take the suitcase from him, thanking him quickly, and shutting the door in his face. "Sit down sweetie. Is this all you brought? Oh, well I suppose we'll just have the rest of it sent here. Are you hungry? Did you eat dinner? Because we were just about to order some Chinese, or maybe pizza, I don't know, we hadn't really discussed it." Mellie flitted about, pouring Charlotte water, pushing her into a seat at the kitchen island, pulling out a stack of takeout menus, and wiping down the counter in front of Charlotte. Her nerves were getting the better of her. Part of it was because of Charlotte's unexpected arrival, but she figured she could have handled that, had she been alone. But she was nowhere near ready to introduce Charlotte and Marcus. Hardly anyone even knew they were dating. Oh well, nothing she could do now but make the best of it.

"I'll go put the suitcase in the guest room." Marcus needed something to do, and some way to get a moment to himself. He was just as nervous as Mellie appeared.

"Thank you b-Marcus." Mellie turned to the faucet for a moment as she poured her own water, composing herself, before turning to Charlotte with a smile. "So, you decided to move in?"

"Well as long as it's still, you know, alright with you, and everything. I know this morning I kind of snapped, and it was a little uncalled for, and you just want to help, and you love me, but it's all so much, and I just couldn't think, and then you were being so nice and I was being so mean, but it's really just because I'm not used to you being so… like this." Charlotte gestured vaguely to Mellie's whole being as her mother came to sit beside her.

"It will always be alright with me." The two sat there, sipping their water, knowing nothing else needed to be said, for the moment, at least. It was apparent to both of them that they still had a long way to go, and each found herself wishing desperately that their relationship had never come to this in the first place. Neither knew where life had gone astray exactly, but somewhere it had. And somewhere, with work and patience and love, they would right it all again.

"So," Charlotte started, a little giggly, "who's your boyfriend?"

Mellie felt herself blush profusely. They spent the remainder of that night giggling and laughing. Marcus returned briefly to get food for them, but left to his own apartment for the night. The mother and daughter needed a little carefree bonding time.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! So my updating schedule is completely back, I know, (an unfortunate reflection of my life schedule), and so an apology, here's two chapters in one night YAY! I hope you enjoy! Things are getting kind of heated between Mellie and Charlotte, and it's definitely a crazy roller coaster for them! I've just always felt like Mellie has the potential to be a really amazing mother, but because of her life experiences, she hasn't really found a way to be that. So with Charlotte she's really trying! So, read, hopefully enjoy, review, favorite, follow, do as your heart desires!

The next morning, Charlotte woke up with a groan as bright sunlight filtered through the curtains, landing in strips on the fluffy white comforter. For the first night in… well, many more days than she cared to count, she had slept soundly and comfortably. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was having the truth from her parents, and knowing that they were both working to repair the damage. Or maybe it was the fact that for one night, Evan had absolutely no way of getting to her. She feared it was the latter, but was content to know that the first possibility wasn't hurting, and most definitely held true. For the first time in two years, Charlotte felt loved by her parents, despite having a long way to go, especially with her mother. The thing was, despite being a daddy's girl, Charlotte was in no way as close with Fitz as Jerry, Karen, or even Teddy. She and Mellie had always been like peas in a pod, and now Charlotte knew precisely why. However, that also meant that she and Mellie had a harder road ahead. When you trust someone that much, and they break it, the road to recovery is as shattered as the trust.

The wafting aroma of fresh coffee lured Charlotte out of bed, a bit begrudgingly. She wandered downstairs to find Mellie, fumbling around the kitchen as she sang an old country song. For a moment, Charlotte watched in shock as her mother actually cooked. She could count on one hand the number of times she had seen her mother cook: Twice for a publicity stunt, once her sister had made fun of her, and now. Mellie turned around to the stove, and caught Charlotte gaping at her.

"Morning!" Mellie was overly cheerful for this early in the morning.

"Good morning. Whatcha doing?" Charlotte was careful to approach the kitchen, fully fearful that something would catch fire or explode. Most people would laugh , call it an irrational fear, but Charlotte knew it was far from irrational, bordering on so-rational-it's-a-number. And with that thought, Charlotte rolled her eyes at her inner math geek, conquering her fears and sitting in a stool, still far enough from any potential danger.

"I'm cooking." Mellie was dumbfounded at the question. What did it look like she was doing?

"Uh-huh. I can see that. What are you making, exactly?" Charlotte was asked her question slowly and deliberately as Mellie set a steaming mug of coffee in front of her. She took a sip, and let out an appreciative sigh as the rich, bold flavor engulfed her taste buds.

"Cinnamon apple pancakes. Your favorite. Oh, they're done!" Mellie scooped a few pancakes onto a plate, with the pride of a child who has just learned to walk. She set the plate down in front of Charlotte expectantly, handing her a fork, and staring at her as Charlotte eyed the plate. The pancakes were the right color, and they didn't smell, but Charlotte was not convinced. However, she was sure that Mellie wouldn't move until she took at least one bite, and she was growing uncomfortable under the gaze of the blue eyes. So, she cautiously cut into the edge of one pancake, and slid a bite into her mouth.

The taste of the pancakes overloaded her brain with a surprisingly wonderful flavor, and Charlotte chewed her bite in shock, before hurriedly stuffing another one onto her tongue. Mellie smirked, fully aware of Charlotte's forgotten doubt about her cooking skills. Charlotte, for her part, finished an entire pancake in about two more bites, before looking up at her mom in amazed reverence.

"When did you learn to cook!" It was more of an excited statement than a question, and Mellie just laughed, a light, tinkling sound that warmed her daughter's ears. She had missed her mother's laugh.

"When I started living on my own, without a cook, and realized I didn't like takeout nearly as much as I thought I would."

"Mama, it's… these are amazing!" There it was again. That name. Hearing it brought tears to Mellie's eyes, and she tried desperately not to let them fall. This was a happy time, no crying allowed.

Charlotte noticed Mellie's eyes well up with tears, and felt immediately regretful, wondering what she could have done to hurt her mother, again.

"I'm sorry, did I say something?" Mellie shook her head forcefully, smiling at her child.

"No, it's just… You called me 'Mama.'" Charlotte smiled, understanding Mellie's emotion perfectly. The moment was broken by the shrill ring of Mellie's cell phone. She picked it up in severe annoyance, not bothering to look at the caller I.D.

"Yes?" She answered in a terse voice. Olivia's voice sounded on the other end.

"Mellie, we need you down at the office." Mellie sighed. She had hoped to spend some more time with Charlotte.

"Why?"

"I don't want to tell you over the phone. It's something we need to discuss in person."

"Fine, I'll be there in forty five minutes. This better be good, Liv."

"It is." Mellie moved to hang up the phone before Olivia stopped her with a rushed request. "And Mellie, bring Charlotte."

Mellie punched the screen with her thumb to end the call, and glanced at her daughter, still completely enthralled with her pancakes and coffee. She had no idea why Olivia wanted Charlotte there, but whatever scheme she was drawing up, Mellie was not having Charlotte be a part of it. She was done subjecting her children to manipulation and the spotlight all for politics.

"Hey, Char, can you go get dressed, please? Olivia asked for us down at the office." Charlotte hesitated as she shoved the last bit of food in her mouth, unsure as to why she'd be needed at campaign headquarters by someone other than her mother. But, she decided, she would trust Mellie to know her boundaries with politics and the spotlight, and hopped off the stool to get dressed.

Marcus was pissed. Normally, he liked to be a bit more articulate than using a slang word, but he had no other way to describe it. Olivia had voiced her pla, and asked him about it, as if she actually cared what he thought. She had made it seem as if she wasn't going to do anything before talking it over with Mellie. And then this morning, not twelve hours after he had told Olivia he wasn't too keen on her newest master plan, he wakes up to the five a.m. news cycle, gossiping about Mellie Grant's secret, illegitimate oldest daughter. And Mellie clearly didn't know yet, because there was no call or text from her awaiting him that morning. So when he gets to the office and confronts her about it, what does Olivia say? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Because he is supposed to follow so blindly in her footsteps, when they're dealing with the wellbeing and sanity of his _girlfriend_ here. As he was pacing the board room, yelling at Olivia in his mind, the elevator doors dinged open to reveal Mellie, Charlotte by her side.

Mellie's heels clicked quickly down the hallway, Charlotte dragging behind as she appraised the office of Olivia Pope and Associates, taking in the minimal furnishing and decoration with a judgmental eye. Olivia stepped out of her smaller office as she heard Mellie approaching. Mellie stopped next to Marcus, sharing a loving look, and giving his hand a good morning squeeze, before turning to Olivia.

"What is it?"

Wordlessly, Olivia switched on the television to the news station. Four pairs of eyes watched, with rapt attention, as the news reporter stood outside the White House, giving her broadcast.

"...allegations have surfaced that the Grant's eldest daughter, Charlotte, is not actually the President's biological child. For those of you who do not know, the Grant's actually have four children. Charlotte, the oldest, had previously requested to be kept out of the public eye. People are now speculating that Charlotte's request was due the fact that, twenty years ago, Mellie Grant had a child with another man…"

Olivia switched of the television, and turned to the mother-daughter duo with her arms crossed. It took all Marcus had not to turn to Mellie and tell her the truth. They did not keep things from each other. That was not how their relationship worked. Olivia, however, quickly began to work the situation.

"We'll need to make a statement. Mellie, you can tell the press that you kept Charlotte because abortion and adoption just didn't seem like options to you. Embrace Fitz as a father, say you're thankful that he was supportive enough to raise your child as his own. Charlotte, you can come out and say that while the rumors are true, you've never felt like anyone but a Grant, and you're thankful your mother made the decision she did."

Mellie stared at the blank screen in horrified shock, one hand covering her mouth. Charlotte just stood there, stock still and wordless, a faraway look in her eye. Slowly, Mellie turned on Olivia, anger boiling in her blood.

"How do they know?" Her voice was low and dangerously quiet. An explosion simmered just below the surface. Olivia just shrugged calmly.

"I'm not sure. Someone at the White House. That's the only possibility." Mellie's hands balled into tight fists.

"Find out who."

"Mellie, I don't know if we-"

"Find out who!" Mellie's explosion reached the surface as she shouted in Olivia's face.

"Fine." Olivia huffed out. Until now, Charlotte had been quiet. But hearing her mother's false allegations sent a shiver of rage through her thin frame. She snorted sarcastically.

"Why do you need to know who?" Mellie looked at Charlotte, confused, as the moment morphed into a tension between just the two of them, again.

"So we can, I don't know, make them take it back."

"But we already know who it is."

"How?" Mellie was genuinely confused by her daughter's words.

"Because it was you." Charlotte was quiet. She was done arguing, and she was done with the yelling. This was the last straw. Mellie hadn't changed a bit, and she was just manipulating the situation to get what she wants.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, Mother, you know precisely what I'm talking about. You leaked it to the press, so you could somehow turn it in your favor." Charlotte shook her head in a mixture of sadness, disappointment, and anger. "And just when I thought maybe things would be different." With that, Charlotte walked purposefully back down the hallway, leaving a stunned Mellie in her wake. Marcus moved up to wrap an arm around Mellie's waist, and Olivia stayed where she was, a tinge of regret tweaking her heart.


	9. Chapter 9

Charlotte banged open the door to Mellie's house, not caring if she broke anything. Furiously, she stomped up the stairs, and straight into the bedroom she had hoped would be hers for as long as she needed. But, apparently, her mom hadn't had the same thought process. Unbeknownst to Charlotte, Evan had followed her into the house, curious when she had blown past him like he was nothing. Curious, and very angry. What Charlotte didn't know was that he had just gotten off of the phone with his boss, getting fired for being caught in "an inappropriate relationship with a woman far above his paygrade." In layman's terms, someone had caught him and Charlotte tonguing, and now he was paying the price.

The zipper on her suitcase was stuck again, and Charlotte wrestled it with all her anger, wanting to get out of the house as fast as possible. In her anger, not even the sound of Evan's voice was powerful enough to stop her.

"What are you doing?" Charlotte didn't answer, just kept tugging uselessly at the stubborn zipper. Evan strode to her side, staring down at her like some sort of overlord, hands planted on his hips. "Charlotte, what are you doing?" Again, Charlotte didn't answer, but he knew she had heard him by the way she shook her head with a tiny movement. Pissed, he grabbed ahold of her arm, and yelled. "What the fuck are you doing?"

That did it. His words, so full of an anger that bordered on hatred, snapped her out of whatever painful trance she was in, and she yanked her arm out of his grasp, quickly and furiously. The inertia caused her to spin around, as Evan stood in shock at her disobeyment. Charlotte was done. She was finished being someone else's toy, or pawn, or thing. She was done living her life for anyone but herself. She wouldn't do it for her mother, and, she realized, she couldn't do it for Evan. Her life was hers, and she fully intended to live it however the hell she damn well pleased to. The independence was hard in her eyes as she stared at Evan in defiance.

"I'm leaving." Two simple words. Two words that gave her the freedom only she could give. But Evan just laughed, a cold, bitter sound that actually surprised Charlotte. She stood there, crossing her arms, strengthening her defiant attitude.

"Do you realize what you did?" Charlotte was confused. As of right now, she hadn't actually done anything, it was a plan in progress. But Evan didn't wait for an answer. "You got me fired."

"I- what?"

"You got me fired." Evan spoke slowly and clearly, as if he thought he was talking to an idiot. "We were kissing, and we were seen, and now I have no job."

"I'm sorry." Charlotte's voice became smaller, losing some of the independence she had gained in the last few minutes. It was replaced by fear. This was a kind of anger she hadn't seen in Evan before. It was a simmering anger, resting just below the surface of his emotions, and it was more dangerous, she sensed, than any other kind of anger. He took a step toward her, and she backed out the doorway, trying to still his advance. But he kept coming, so after a moment's hesitation, she turned to flee down the stairs.

Mellie sat at the table, Olivia across from her, in tense silence. Marcus, sweet Marcus, brought her a glass of cold water, setting it on the table, and kissing her forehead lovingly. She closed her eyes at the soft contact, very much in love. This man was able to warm her heart with a simple gesture, making her fall in love all over again. That was something Fitz hadn't done since before the rape, and something Andrew had never done for her. Mellie didn't pick up the glass, just simply stared at it. How was it possible that things could go this wrong between her and Charlotte? Just when they were starting to get along, something came up and broke apart whatever reparations they had forged. She needed a way to fix this, to prove to Charlotte that she wasn't the leak.

"Mellie," Olivia started out carefully. "We need Charlotte on this one. We can't make a statement to the press without her there, it will look too fake. Maybe we could as Fitz too-"

"No." Mellie was quick to cut her off. "He stays out of this. We are not playing the 'my ex-husband is the President' card here."

"Fine." Olivia was disgruntled at Mellie's bossy attitude, but decided that right now was one of those times where she just had to let Mellie get her way to get anything done.

"And we're not making a statement until we know who leaked this, and we can use them."

"Mellie, I don't think that a good idea. We may never know who leaked it."

"Why?"

"Mellie-" Marcus began, trying to calm his girlfriend before he had two angry women on his hands. Mellie, however, dismissed him.

"No, I want to know why. Is it because the leak is you, Olivia?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't. And that's why you immediately wanted to make a statement to the press. That's why you already knew what to say, and exactly how to say it. That's why you don't want to find out who the leak is. Because it was you."

"Mellie, I think you've had a hard day. Why don't we talk about this later, focus on some of the more boring issues for now."

"NO!" Mellie stood from the table forcefully, shaking the whole thing. "We are not discussing anything more. You just couldn't stop, could you, Liv? You ruined my marriage, you took my husband, but that just wasn't enough for you. You had to take my baby girl too."

Marcus stood up, trying to rub one of Mellie's shoulders, hoping she would calm down. He hated seeing her like this, so unhappy and damaged. This Mellie hardly showed through anymore, but when she did, Marcus's heart hurt for her. His hand on her shoulder was unwelcome, though, and she threw it off, turning on him now. Olivia was relieved not to be under that withering glare anymore.

"And you, baby," Mellie used the word ironically, the way she used to with Fitz. And she hated how she sounded, hated how the word slid off her tongue as she was referencing Marcus. But she was too far gone to change that now. "Did you know?" Marcus didn't need to answer her; the look in his eyes, one full of sorrow and regret, told her everything she needed to know. She inhaled a breath softly and sharply, not wanting to show how much he had just hurt her. Before her eyes betrayed her, Mellie turned on her heel towards the hallway. Olivia stood now.

"Mellie, where are you going?"

"To talk to my daughter." The words were rough and angry. Marcus turned to Olivia, asking her a silent question.

"Go." She nodded, and he took off after Mellie. She acknowledged his presence, making it clear that it was unwanted, but did nothing to stop him.


	10. Chapter 10

Mellie stepped out of the sleek black car onto the sidewalk in front of her house, nodding slightly to the two agents who stood alert at the edge of her front lawn. Marcus followed quickly behind her, like a lost puppy. She hadn't spoken a word to him the entire car ride, despite his repeated attempts to explain the situation. Instead, she had steamed in a bitter, sullen silence for fifteen minutes.

Immediately after Mellie opened the door, she heard a scuffling sound, and then the crash of pots as they plummeted to the ground. She strode briskly to the kitchen in confusion, a million possibilities running through her mind. The scene she stumbled upon, however, never came close to her imagination. Charlotte was backing away from the stove, where she had just swept the pots to the floor in a useless attempt to stop Evan's advance. He had strategically blocked her path to the front door, and was slowly stalking towards her, a malicious gleam in his eye. Charlotte almost appeared calm, save for the rapid rise and fall of her chest, as wild eyes searched for a way out. Evan had backed her into the corner where the two counters met; there was no way out.

It took a moment for Mellie to fully register the scene before her, but when she did, she let out a banshee-like shriek.

"Get away from my daughter!" Evan didn't even glance back at Mellie, too focused on his prey, as he grabbed Charlotte's wrist, his other hand flashing to the island, snagging a knife from the cutlery holder. At the sound of Mellie's shriek, the two agents came busting into the house, reaching the scene just as Evan's hand wrapped around the knife handle. Mellie made a move to jump over the island and stop Evan, provided she could cross the distance, but Marcus anticipated her thought process, and wrapped two protective arms around her waist. She struggled against his iron-like grip, but he was too strong for her. Besides, the agents were already tackling Evan before she could spring into action. As Evan was ripped away from Charlotte, he struck out, as if to stab her. The knife made contact with her side, and she screamed as it ripped through her skin. Seconds later, the two agents had wrestled the knife from Evan, and had him pinned to the ground, arms tangled behind his back. Charlotte stumbled away from the scene, falling towards the ground, as Marcus released a still desperately struggling Mellie from his arms.

Mellie caught her daughter before Charlotte's head struck the cold, hard tile. She pushed her hair back from her forehead, rubbing the backs of her knuckles along her daughters face.

"It's okay, baby girl. It's okay. Mama's here." Charlotte didn't respond, and her eyes began to fall shut. That's when Mellie noticed the warm liquid that was trickling onto her hand. In her adrenaline rush, she hadn't been aware of it before, and had assumed Charlotte's scream was due to fear and relief. Now she knew. A new, atrocious panic set in as she watched her daughter lose consciousness, uselessly calling her name. Marcus knelt down to help a nearly deranged Mellie, yelling at the agents to get an ambulance. And that was when Charlotte's world went black.

Mellie's world spun as she rushed down a long white hallway, one hand on her unconscious daughter, who lay in a stretcher, as doctors and nurses called out stats that Mellie was too far gone to even begin to understand. The voices all blurred together as she fought the tears and anxiety. Laying on that stretcher, an oxygen mask over her deathly calm face, eyes closed, Charlotte looked smaller than she ever had. She looked like death was knocking at her door, and as if she maybe wasn't winning the fight. But Mellie couldn't think those things. She had lost one child already, and she'd be damned if her baby girl was going to die right before her eyes like her son did. So, she turned to a doctor, and released all of the emotions she'd been clinging to.

"Why are you all just running around like a bunch of buffoons? Someone needs to do something here!" The doctor was completely taken aback by Mellie's onslaught, seeing as they were all heading straight for the automatic doors the read "OR." However, she was used to dealing with stressed loved ones, and calmly laid a hand on Mellie's shoulder, effectively stopping her from following the stretcher and its entourage any further.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid you'll have to wait here." Mellie sputtered in contempt at being stopped, and a mother's protectiveness overtook her. She pulled herself away from the doctor's grasp, her entire body shaking uncontrollably. The world continued spinning around her as she tried furiously to follow her child.

"The hell I am! I want to go with my daughter." The doctor remained soothing, turning Mellie in the direction of the waiting room.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you can't. She's going into surgery now, and we will be sure to keep you updated on her progress." Mellie turned to her, her voice suddenly small, as all the fight and fire left her body.

"Is she going to be alright?" The doctor worked up her practiced, comforting smile, as she patted Mellie's arm.

"I'm sure she will be. After all, she is the President's daughter, and he survived a shooting." The doctor tried not to choke on her words, knowing, just as everyone else did, that Charlotte wasn't Fitz's daughter. But what she said worked on Mellie, who meekly turned to the waiting room.

Marcus and Olivia were already there. Marcus stood, pacing the length of the room over and over again, as Olivia sat in a chair, arms hugging herself, a faraway look in her eye. Marcus turned as Mellie entered the room, approaching her silently, as she lowered herself heavily into the seat next to Olivia. She looked at him with red-rimmed eyes, and they both knew that, for now, their current quarrel was on hold. She needed him, she needed his strong arms and his comfort.

"Hold me," she whispered, barely audible. And he did.


	11. Chapter 11

Half an hour later, Mellie opened her eyes to the now bustling waiting room. She thought she was only going to close her eyes for a second, but she had fallen asleep, and in her unconscious state, visitors arrived. Huck and Quinn leaned against the far wall, looking as out of place as ever. They were really only there for Olivia, not because they cared what happened to Charlotte. Cyrus was seated in a chair opposite Mellie, head in his hands, the slight shake in his shoulders giving away his fear. Abby had come too, not quite sure why, but feeling some attachment to this girl who was in the same situation Abby herself had been in. And there's a certain pull, a pull that only appears between two women who know what it's like to feel a man's hands around their throat, night after night. So she had come, because that is what the pull makes you do. And Fitz was there too, alone in a chair as far from everyone else as possible. He was the President, he couldn't look as terrified as he felt. But Mellie knew him too well, and only she could see the clenched fists, the red face, and the vein in his neck that popped out when he was terrified. There was an inner struggle going on, out of sight from the rest of the world. He knew exactly where Evan was being held, and part of him, the part that usually won out, wanted to go down there and have his way, just as he had done with Jake after Jerry's death. But the other part of him knew he couldn't do that, not now, when the situation was so public. And yet, the struggle continued, and even Fitz himself didn't know which part would win.

As Mellie stirred, Marcus lifted his arm to allow more movement, and to bring feeling back into it. He gave her a tender smile, still all too conscious of the impending fight between them. But now was not the time for that. Right now, Mellie simply needed comfort and support, because she was going through things that he didn't think he could ever understand.

All eyes in the room flipped to Mellie like she was a magnet, unsure of her mental state. She breathed deeply, looking over every person, one by one, before she turned to Fitz. It hurt Marcus to watch her unsteadily make her way towards him, but Charlotte was their daughter in all the ways that mattered, and right now was a time for them to come together as parents, despite all their differences.

She delicately lowered herself into the seat beside him, and he immediately reached for her hand. They sat for a moment in pained silence, before she spoke.

"Has there been any news?" He shook his head just barely, holding it all together by a thread.

"A nurse came in about ten minutes ago, but she said we shouldn't expect to hear anything for a while. 'Surgery is a much lengthier process than it appears on t.v., Mr. President,' she told me." Fitz sighed heavily, looking at Mellie for the first time that day, tears in his eyes. She rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand, trying to be strong, and giving him her best try at an optimistic smile. It failed miserably, and she knew it.

"So, we wait." He nodded.

"We wait." A hushed silence overtook the room for a lingering moment, and Mellie bit her lip, trying to stop the horrible thoughts that were running around her brain. Fitz shook her out of it with a quiet question. "What happened?"

Two words. That's all his question was. Two tiny words, strung together in a common way. But that question held a great weight. And they both knew it. Because it went deeper than just the singular events that led them here. That question went back twenty years. What happened that got them here, yes, but what happened that made Charlotte think what was happening was okay in the first place? What happened that broke their family apart? What happened that made the two of them somehow forget to watch out for their little girl? What happened to create a person who would do what Evan did? What happened to allow him into the Secret Service? What happened that made them lose Charlotte?

But those questions were all too much for both of them at the moment, so Mellie decided to answer the simplest one first, and began to recount the events of the day to her ex-husband.

Outside, swarms of news vans and reporters surrounded the entrance to the hospital, reporting the breaking news. Huck leaned over to whisper in Olivia's ear, and she stood silently, exiting the room unnoticed, to make a statement. Her head spun as she remembered the last time she had stood outside this same hospital and made a statement about a Grant child. She hoped she wouldn't repeat those events tonight. Instead, she stood tall and strong at the podium, arms resting on the sides, and cleared her throat. She fixed each reporter with a classic Olivia Pope look, and began.

"Earlier today, there was a domestic disruption in the home of Senator Mellie Grant. Her twenty year old daughter, Charlotte, was attacked by her boyfriend, Evan Sanders, a member of the Secret Service. The attack culminated in the young Ms. Grant being stabbed, and she was rushed to the hospital. She is currently receiving treatment of the best quality from the surgeons here. The President and Senator Grant remain strong in this time of need, and thank you for your hopes and prayers. Mr. Sanders is being held, without bail, awaiting trial. Thank you." Olivia didn't finish her thought, knowing that Evan was also waiting to see if her would be charged with aggravated assault, or murder. But none of the reporters were idiots, and they all heard what went unsaid. Olivia exited the podium without taking any questions, and walked casually back in the hospital doors. She paused to take a breath, and sent a silent prayer to whatever God there might be, that Charlotte would live. She couldn't watch Fitz lose another child.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Hey guys! To all of you still reading, THANK YOU SO DARN MUCH! So, I know last chapter was sort of boring, and ya'll want ANSWERS! Well, here they are! I tried my best to not leave you too in the lurch this time, but I do love my cliff hangers ;) Sooooo read, comment, review, critique, what-have-you, and please, please, please, ENJOY!

The hours ticked by slowly on the clock on the wall, and the waiting room was mostly silent, save for the occasional rustling or offer of nourishment. Mellie sat, eyes rimmed red and hands clasped tightly, a stoic, forlorn expression adorning her face, with Marcus by her side. He had eventually made his way over to her and Fitz, sucking up his anger at the man for the time being. Fitz remained in his angered, scared state, one hand firmly on Mellie's leg. Whenever life was hard, he always went back to Mellie. She was safe, and familiar, yes, but he also knew he would always love her, the feeling of being near her would always be his calm. It was just a different type of love now, a sexless, plutonic, supportive love, not nearly as destructive as what the two shared before. Marcus noted the way Fitz left his hand territorially on his ex-wife, and became a bit territorial himself, wrapping his arm around her lovingly. After a wait that seemed to stretch to eternity, a nurse walked in, searching for Mellie and Fitz. They both immediately stood, terrified and hopeful at the same time, praying fervently for their baby's health.

"Mr. President, Senator Grant," the nurse cordially acknowledged them both, seemingly drawing out the moment for the fun of it, as the entire room waited with bated breath. "Ms. Grant is in recovery in the ICU right now. The surgery went as well as can be expected, and the doctor expects her to make a full recovery."

"Why is she in the ICU? Isn't she ok?" Mellie tried to force herself to hear the good news, to hear that her sweet daughter would be alright, but all the heard was "ICU." They didn't put patients who were recovering normally in the ICU.

"Yes, well, there were some, uh, unexpected complications with the surgery. You see, when your daughter was stabbed, the blade managed to miss all of her major organs, which means that the damage caused was fixable, by the surgery she just went through. But the blade did hit the amniotic sac, putting the fetus in extreme danger that it is not out of yet. The doctors have put your daughter in the ICU in case further complications with her pregnancy arise, but so far, they hope to have fixed the damage." Mellie and Fitz stood in shocked quiet for a few moments, processing as best they could what the nurse was saying. The whole room, of course, had heard, and a quiet mumbling began as they all realized what this meant. Mellie was first, as always, to speak.

"The amniotic sac?" She said it so quietly the nurse almost didn't hear, but the desperate look in Mellie's eyes conveyed her message just as well.

"Perhaps I had better let you speak to your daughter first. Follow me." The nurse turned on her heel, walking purposefully down the long hallway, Fitz and Mellie in tow like puppy dogs. They came up to Charlotte's room to find her lying on the bed, staring blankly up to the ceiling. The nurse motioned the parents inside with a wave of her hand, and left just as quickly as she had come.

Charlotte looked to see her parents come into the room, and a turmoil of emotions that she had managed to hold back came rushing out. She didn't cry, but instead her breathing came out in short, ragged puffs, and her entire body began to shake uncontrollably, as she pressed her lips together, hard. She had never been so afraid in her entire life. Mellie and Fitz simply clung to their daughter, one on either side of Charlotte, thankful for this moment with her. For now, they didn't need words, just needed to bask in the joy and gratitude of being together, and safe, and alive. After they had all sufficiently reassured themselves of the gravity of the situation, and the existence of the other two, Charlotte broke the moment with her mumbled words.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know… I should never have… I'm sorry." Charlotte shook her head in her parents' shoulders, apologizing for things she knew she couldn't have controlled, knowing, somewhere, deep in her mind, that she didn't need to apologize. Deep in her mind, that bitter, angry teenager still told her that she was simply giving her parents what they deserved, serves them right for lying to her all her life, for ignoring her and acting like she was nothing. But on the surface was a girl who had just had the scare of her life, who had seen how quickly it all could end, and who just needed Mama and Daddy, for now.

Fitz was first to pull back, and put his hands on either side of Charlotte's face, forcing her to look at him. He shook his head slowly, stroking the tears from her cheek with his thumb, and spoke, pain lacing his voice.

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. None of this is your fault. The only person who needs to be sorry is Evan. He needs to pay for what he's done." Mellie heard Charlotte's breath hitch at the mention of Evan, and laid a calming hand on Fitz's arm. She took her turn to spoke now, setting aside all of their mother-daughter problems to comfort her child.

"Charlotte, you don't need to apologize. You didn't do anything. Scared the living shit out of your father and I, but that wasn't your fault. We are just so thankful that you are alive. We want you to know that, no matter what has happened, and what issues we may have with one another, we will always love you, more than anything else in the world. You, and your siblings, are the most important things in our lives. And we desperately want you to know that." Blue eyes connected with hazel for a meaningful look, filled with only the purest kind of love, unadulterated and cloudless, for the moment. Times like these called for the two to hold their issues, for the time being, and just be there. Mellie knew it wouldn't last, at some point their problems would make themselves known once more, but for now, she was being a mom. And Charlotte understood. She took it in, and nodded, a simple answer, but that was all that was needed.

A Secret Service Agent came in then, whispering in Fitz's ear, updating him on Evan, not that Charlotte or Mellie knew. And in that moment, a side of Fitz won the war. He nodded strongly to his agent, and turned to Charlotte and Mellie, promising to be back later, kissing his baby girl, and savoring the moment. He grabbed his jacket, throwing it on, and bracing himself to confront his daughter's attacker.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Alright ya'll, Evan gets his just desserts here, thank God!

The guards were mumbling as Fitz entered the bowels of the Pentagon. This was where they kept the biggest terror threats to America's safety. This was also where the man who had been beating his daughter was being held. As Fitz walked down the hallway, he willed himself not to remember walking down this same hallway to confront Jake about Jerry. He knew what the guards were whispering without having to hear. They were all wondering if they were about to watch the President of the United States lose his cool, again. Even Fitz didn't have the answer to their questions. Each nodded respectfully as he walked by, but Fitz simply fixed each agent with a glare, daring any one of them to question his authority. He was President. He could do whatever he damn well pleased.

Fitz reached the door that would lead him to Evan. The agent outside nodded a greeting as Fitz steadied himself with a deep breath, one hand on the door handle. Then, he turned it, opening the door to reveal what Fitz had dubbed "The Peeping Room." A single agent stood inside, watching Evan through the one-way mirror. He was dressed drastically different than he had been that morning. Gone was the nice suit, it had been replaced by a gruesome orange jumpsuit. Where his belt had been was the chain that connected his body to the shackles on his wrists. He sat in a hard metal chair, arms resting on the matching metal table, looking as calm as ever. Fitz felt his blood boil as he looked at the smugly calm expression Evan had formed his face into. He felt the thread that held Presidential Fitz to Angry, Big-Jerry-esque Fitz snap, leaving only Angry, Big-Jerry-esque Fitz in his head. Devoid of any logical thinking, Fitz slammed open the door to Evan's room. Evan jumped slightly in his chair, startled by the unexpected entrance. He stood quickly.

"Mr. President-"

"Shut up." Fitz growled, throwing his hand up. "You don't get to talk. Sit down, shut up, and listen." Evan immediately dropped back down into his chair, looking at Fitz, unsure. Up until this point, he had believed, for some insane reason, that there was an easy way out of this. He would claim Charlotte attacked him first, she would say the opposite, and it would be the kind of he-said, she-said situation the courts could never prove either way. But from the look on Fitz's face, Evan began to doubt whether he would be getting a fair trial. Fitz glared at Evan for over a minute, waiting until the asshole was shifting in his seat nervously, before he started. His own voice came out calm, but it was an eerie calm, a scary calm, much different from Evan's smug calm.

"You almost killed my daughter. You took a knife, and you sliced her open, and she almost died. You put my ex-wife through hell, making her watch all of that. And that's not even the worst part. For months, you put your hands on MY child, night after night. You hit her, you abused her, and you scared her. You made her think she was worthless. You were an agent of the Secret Service, the most trusted security agency in the world, and you took advantage of the President's daughter. And no matter what you may think, you are not going to walk. I promise you, I will not rest until I see you rotting behind bars for the rest of your life." Fitz had slowly crept closer to Evan, threatening him merely with the dark tone of his voice. He did not make a move to hit him, simply glowered into Evan's bright eyes. But Evan simply chuckled, an evil, twisted, joyful chuckle. Fitz was completely taken aback by the sound coming out of Evan, and stumbled back a few paces. Now, Evan stood, scary powerful.

"You think this was all on me? You don't know your daughter at all. She _liked_ it. She needed to be told what to do, and she needed to be shown what wasn't okay. She spread her legs for me just as much as I pushed them open. I didn't do anything your daughter didn't ask for. She searched me out, she wanted me first. At first, it was just to get back at her parents for being such dicks, but then she fell in love. She needed someone to teach her right from wrong because her parents were never there to do it for her. So this is really your fault." Without thinking, Fitz charged at Evan, punching him so squarely on the face Evan crumbled towards the table immediately. But Fitz pulled him up by the nape of his neck, landing a few solid punches to his stomach that made Evan gasp in pain as Fitz twisted his head around, before two agents pulled the President off of Evan. As Fitz struggled against the two agents, furious, gasping for air, Evan simply looked up at him, blood running from his likely broken nose, and smiled, a scarlet red smile. He shook his head.

"That's not even half of what I did to her." The agents rushed Fitz out of the room before he murdered the son of a bitch right then and there.

Soon after Fitz left, Charlotte had fallen asleep again, exhausted. Mellie stayed by her side the entire time, watching the rise and fall of her stomach, and trying to imagine the tiny human floating somewhere in there. Mellie had to admit, she was having an extremely difficult time coming to terms with the situation, especially with the part where she would be a grandma. Nope, that was just too weird. Patiently, she waited for Charlotte to wake, dreading that, yet again, they would have to have a talk. Every once in awhile, Mellie found herself wishing that her family was normal, that her relationship with her daughter was normal, and that they didn't have to keep having these talks. But then again, Mellie wouldn't trade her Charlotte for the world. A slight knock on the door brought Mellie out of her reverie. She turned to find Olivia standing just inside the room, holding two coffee cups.

"I thought you might need a little pick me up," Olivia stated, gesturing with the cups.

"Thank you," Mellie smiled softly as she took the offered cup, wrapping both hands around the warmth, and sipping carefully. Olivia looked Mellie over deliberately, noticing the out of place hairs, the wrinkled dress, the chapped lips, and the dark circles under her eyes.

"Have you slept?" In answer, Mellie just shook her head. Olivia put a friendly hand on her shoulder, gently forcing Mellie to look at her. "You need to."

"I… can't." Mellie sighed, putting a hand to her forehead and drawing in a sporadic breath. "Every time I've tried I just see… him, and blood, and her just… falling towards me." Mellie didn't realize, but she had begun to cry silent tears, the first time since she caught her baby in her arms. Olivia stood there, slightly stiff, not knowing what to do. Mellie wiped the tears with the back of her hand, shaking her head hard, and crossing her legs tightly. "I can't."

Olivia nodded, not wanting to push the subject further. She set herself delicately on the arm of the chair Mellie was sitting in, both women watching Charlotte sleep for a few moments, in silence. Once again, Olivia spoke first.

"I sent Marcus home. He wanted to come back here, but they wouldn't let him in, because he's not family, and he's not as pushy as I am. I told him the best thing he could do for you was make sure there was something to eat and a warm bed when you got home."

"I'm not leaving." Again, the room filled with silence. Mellie kept staring at her daughter, but Olivia looked down at her watch, noting the time, and wondering just what Fitz was doing. But then, she thought, it's best not to know.

"He really loves you, you know." Mellie turned at Olivia's statement, the old, angry Mellie wondering just what Olivia Pope thought she was doing, meddling in MEllie's love life. But new Mellie was curious.

"Oh?" Was all she could think to say.

"Yes. I see it in the way he looks at you. It's the way Fitz used to look at me." Olivia bit her lip and wrung her hands, hoping she hadn't gone too far with the truth. But her words didn't make Mellie angry or hurt. Instead, they made her happy. She always used to believe Fitz's love for Olivia was real. And if Marcus looked at her like that…

"I love him too." Mellie's voice was quiet. She was admitting this to herself for the first time as well. But she was still terribly furious with Marcus. No matter how much she loved him, no one was allowed to jeopardize her relationship with her daughter.

"Good." Olivia nodded, standing to go. "I'll make a statement to the press, and get you a few days to spend with Charlotte, undisturbed, after this family tragedy. Call me with any news." And with that, Olivia left, all weird girlfriend talk finished for the time being.


	14. Chapter 14

A few hours later, Charlotte began to stir in her bed, waking Mellie with her movement. Instantly, Mellie sat upright, one hand on Charlotte's shoulder. She smiled into her daughter's sleepy face, as Charlotte reached a hand up to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"Mom, you're still here." Charlotte sounded almost surprised, and very relieved.

"Of course I am, baby." Mellie patted her shoulder, tucking stray pieces of hair behind Charlotte's ear. Charlotte tried to sit up, but winced as her stomach lit up with a fire, and she felt like her skin was popping open. Then, she remembered just what she was doing in this hospital room, and stopped struggling to be upright. Mellie reached over, placing a thin pillow behind Charlotte, in a failed effort to help her. She watched as Charlotte placed a delicate hand to the side of her stomach, looking as if she was holding herself together.

"Are you in pain? I can call the nurse to give you some meds." The words came out rushed, Mellie already leaping into action to hit the call button as Charlotte shook her head.

"No, it's ok. It's not that bad." Charlotte gulped down another wince as the fire returned, sending another shockwave of stinging pain through her abdomen. Mellie didn't want to argue though, so she sat back down.

"Did you sleep well?" Mellie realized how stupid that question was the moment the words left her mouth. Charlotte, though, just shrugged it off.

"Ok, I guess. You didn't have to stay."

"I'm not leaving." Silence fell over the room, as they no longer had Fitz as their buffer. It was sad, Mellie realized, that they even needed a buffer. And so, Mellie decided, she would ignore the awkwardness in their conversation, and simply go straight for the truth. She'd always been rather good at that.

"I was so scared. When I came in the house and I saw that man… I wanted to kill him. I tried, but Marcus is an awful lot stronger than I am." Mellie laughed lightly, trying to ease the tension, and succeeding a little, as she earned a half-hearted smile from Charlotte. "You could have told me. I know you feel like you can't… talk to me about these things, but you can. I am your mother, no matter what, and that will always come first."

"Then why'd you leak the story to the press?" Mellie was taken aback at Charlotte's open hostility. For a moment, she had forgotten what had begun their morning yesterday. But instead of becoming overly defensive, she simply looked Charlotte straight in the eye, placing a hand on her knee, and speaking earnestly.

"I didn't. Olivia did. I told her about the situation because I thought it might come out at some point, and the next day it was all over the news. I would never do that to you. Not anymore. I promise." Charlotte tried to find the lies in Mellie's eyes, but she couldn't. Still, though, her defenses were not completely down. A lifetime of lies had created a wall that was not yet ready to crumble.

"Ok. I believe you. But I can't forgive you." Mellie drew back, anger and hurt flashing across her face. "Not because of the story. But because it's hard, Mom, to just go back to how we used to be. I distanced myself from you for two years, and you never once asked me why. I started to feel like maybe you didn't care. Right after you lost Jerry, you started to lose me, and you were so focused on everything else that it felt like you just let me go. I was a kid, and I felt like I lost my mother, even though she was right there. I don't… I don't know how to move on from that."

Every inch of Mellie's body shook as she tried not to collapse. Everything Charlotte was saying was completely true, and Mellie began to realize that she was wrong to think a simple talk would fix everything. This was going to take time. A part of her wished she could go back and just tell Charlotte the truth, not live a life of lies, because Mellie was very sure that, had she been honest, none of this would be happening right now. And at the same time, she knew there would have been absolutely no way to explain the situation to Charlotte without her feeling as if she was a mistake, as if she was unwanted. She still didn't know how. But there was nothing she could do now except move on. So, she put an arm around her daughter, squeezing hard enough to let her know she was loved, but gentle enough not to hurt her, and whispered into her hair.

"Then I'll help you." That was all that needed to be said, and that was all that could be said. Mellie had no idea how to navigate the road ahead, but she would do it, slowly and carefully, and fix this. She remembered what she had said to Andrew, after his fake bombing, when she had foolishly thought she loved him. She didn't want to lose Charlotte without being there and loving her as hard as she could.

Charlotte pulled away first, looking sheepishly at Mellie, trying to veer into the next subject carefully, but not succeeding.

"Did the doctors talk to you, about, um, my stomach, and uh," Charlotte couldn't bear to meet Mellie's eyes, but Mellie caught on to what she was getting at.

"They told me you're pregnant." Charlotte bit her lip, disappointed in herself. She hadn't had time herself to come to terms with the unexpected new life building itself inside her, nor with the fact that half of its DNA belonged to the man who had tried to kill her. She didn't know what she wanted to do. She was barely able to take care of herself, and she was damn sure she couldn't take care of another, completely helpless human. No matter how she tried to convince herself of that, though, she still felt an inexplicable connection, knowing her child was growing inside her.

"He told me we didn't need a condom." Mellie's insides curled up on themselves as she realized the depths of Evan's manipulation. Her smart, level-headed daughter had given herself completely to him, and he hadn't at all appreciated what he had been gifted. He had done so much worse than be unappreciative. The rage boiled through her once more, and she caught herself hoping Fitz was meting out his own punishment at that very moment. The scared, lost expression on Charlotte's face brought Mellie back to earth. She put a hand over Charlotte's, staring at the place the blanket met the bed.

"You don't have to go through with it. We can get you an abortion, and keep all of this quiet. You shouldn't be forced to carry his child, not by anyone." Charlotte felt a flicker of gratitude for her mother's support in that moment. Mellie was offering her something, judgment free, that Charlotte was sure Mellie had never imagined she would need to offer her daughter. However, as Charlotte thought it over, imagined destroying the baby within her, she knew she couldn't. Many women were strong enough to, but Charlotte hated herself for considering destroying the barely there life within her.

"No," Charlotte shook her head. "I don't know if I'll keep it, but I don't think I can do… that. I almost wish I could. I can't." Charlotte began to sound as if she was hoping Mellie would forgive her for her choice. Mellie met her eyes, a soft insistence in her gaze.

"Ok. Whatever you decide, it's ok." They were interrupted by the doctor, coming in to check Charlotte's vitals.

"I see you're awake!" She stated, rather obviously. Mellie scooted in a tad closer to her daughter, watching earnestly as the doctor copied numbers from the machines to her notes. Then, she turned to Charlotte and Mellie, giving them both a once-over. "Did you sleep well?"

"As well as I could have, I suppose. When do you think I can go home?" Mellie stopped herself from daring to hope that Charlotte was referring to her house as "home."

"That depends on how you are. Situations such as these, we prefer to keep patients in the hospital until their stitches set-"

"How long does that take?" Charlotte interrupted, earning a reprimanding look from Mellie.

"It all depends on the individual. Some people heal faster. You could be out of here tomorrow, or in a week. So then, let's have a look at that wound, shall we?" Charlotte nodded as the doctor pulled up her gown, and, not so gently, undid the bandage and dressings. Mellie had to look away as she saw the red, swollen cut on Charlotte's side, dried blood still visible. The doctor poked and prodded, and Mellie felt Charlotte squeeze her hand a little more tightly every time something hurt. After what seemed like hours, but was really only about a minute, the doctor redressed Charlotte's stitches with new bandages, and pulled her gown back down.

"How does it look?" Charlotte squeezed out, through gritted teeth, waiting until the burning dissipated.

"Very good. I'd say, probably day after tomorrow, as long as things keep progressing the way they have been. Keep eating regularly, and rest up, that'll move things along. Now, I'm going to add a prenatal vitamin to your regimen, and you should take this every day until you go into labor. We're going to get you into an ultrasound tomorrow, and have an OB/GYN speak to you about what you can expect, and what you'll have to do. Sound good?" Charlotte couldn't do anything but nod gingerly as the doctor patted her leg and left. Mellie let out a shuttering breath, neither one making eye contact for a few moments.

"This is really real." Charlotte sounded incredulous, as if everything was just hitting her.

"This is really real." Mellie repeated.

"Mom," Charlotte's voice was quiet, almost scared. Mellie turned to her immediately. "Can you just… hold me? Like when I was little. Or when that boy stood me up for the dance."

"Of course, baby." Mellie untangled her limbs from the chair, gently climbing onto the bed, and wrapping Charlotte up in her warmth.


	15. Chapter 15

The next day, Fitz was sitting at his desk in the Oval office, stretching his bruised and sore knuckles as he tried to write a new draft of a proposed bill. There was a light knock on his door, and his secretary stuck her head in.

"Olivia Pope is here to see you, Sir." Fitz nodded his assent, and in strolled Olivia, dressed perfectly in a form fitting pantsuit, and carrying a black Prada purse on her arm. Fitz stood as she turned to close the door. The two met in the middle of the room, and his body desperately wanted to reach out and touch her. Just being near her sent all of his senses into overdrive. But Olivia was all business as she sat on the couch, laying a sheet of paper on the coffee table. Fitz bent to pick it up, eyes barely registering the words as he skimmed it. "Stronger than ever" and "all together" jumped out at him, but he quickly turned his attention back to Olivia.

"What's this?" He asked, shaking the paper.

"Your statement. Well, yours and Mellie's." Fitz looked at her in astonishment. That was not what he had expected.

"My statement," he repeated slowly. "For what." Olivia just smiled at how slow he was to catch up.

"The statement that you and Mellie are going to make to the press about this situation. You are going to explain that the decision was made before you ever decided to run for any political office, over twenty years ago, and this is a private family matter. The reasons for the decision are private. Your daughter never chose to be in the spotlight, and you would be grateful if the press would allow her to stay that way. Your career decision, Mellie's career decision, should not impact your child's public life."

Fitz looked at Olivia in amazement as he mulled over what she was saying. And it worked. He read the statement, closely this time. Everything it was saying worked, and would get Charlotte out of the spotlight. And yet, as thankful as he was that Olivia had come up with this speech, he couldn't help but be a little hurt that she had only come to give him this, and not to actually see him.

"Thank you." He looked into her eyes, forehead creasing in gratitude. She stood to go, but he caught her hand, effectively stopping her. At first, she didn't turn around.

"Fitz," her voice held a warning tone, but he only held her hand a little tighter. She turned to him, sighing heavily. He quickly pulled her into his body, molding together like they always did. She put a hand on his chest and pushed back. "Fitz, I came here to give you the statement, nothing more. We're not… this is not happening."

"You didn't have to come." He lowered his face towards her, but she avoided his lips.

"What?"

"You could have sent one of Mellie's aids, or even just emailed it to me. But you came."

"Fitz, whatever you're thinking, stop. This is not happening."

"Why not? We've had time, that's what you needed, right?"

Olivia noticed his bruised hand then, and picked it up for examination, knowing full well what he had done. Normally, she would've been disappointed in him, but she couldn't find it within herself to blame him. She didn't know how she would react in a similar situation, but she had a feeling it wouldn't have been too far off from what Fitz did. His hand began to wrap around her own, and she knew she needed to stop the situation.

"Fitz," Olivia didn't want to hurt him, she really didn't, but he needed to know the truth, or else he would never give up on her. "I can't be your domesticated trophy. That just didn't work for me."

"So don't be." Olivia stopped herself from leaning into his touch. She shook her head against his chest, reached for her bag, and pushed herself off of him. She left without turning back, knowing he had that lost puppy dog expression on his face.

A few hours later, Mellie turned her key in the lock to the front door. She hadn't wanted to leave, but Charlotte said that Mellie needed to change and shower. Apparently, she smelled, which Mellie still didn't believe. The ultrasound was scheduled for just about now, and Mellie had wanted to be there for it, but the continued insistence that she go home and take a few hours hinted to Mellie that Charlotte maybe didn't want her there. Mellie supposed it had to do with the fact that Charlotte was likely going to put the child up for adoption, and Mellie's presence would only make that harder. No matter how many times Mellie implied to Fitz that she only had children for him, seeing the little flutter of movement, and hearing the heartbeat of a baby, had never failed to make her emotional. And all of that would only make the final decision harder for Charlotte, who was so like Mellie with her turbulent emotions.

As the door swung inward, Mellie was greeted with a familiar smell, and she inhaled deeply as she closed the door. Following the scent, she found Marcus in the kitchen, wearing her apron and heat-protectant gloves, leaning away from the stove as oil popped up towards his face. His right hand was outstretched, turning over a piece of chicken to reveal one side friend to a perfect golden brown. The island behind him, however, was a mess, with buttermilk, flour, and pepper strewn haphazardly across it. Through her anger at him, Mellie's heart warmed to see this man, who was most assuredly not a cook, making her favorite comfort food. She cleared her throat, announcing her presence, as soon as he had put the hot tongs down and was clear of the stove. He turned to see her, and looked sheepishly at the mess.

"I hadn't realized you were coming home. I was going to bring this to the hospital for you, so you didn't see… Sorry about the mess." Mellie smiled, taking in the view. She stepped towards him, glancing at the counter once more, before picking up a piece of chicken from the paper-towel covered plate in the center. Marcus waited with bated breath as she bit into it indelicately. Mellie closed her eyes and hummed her appreciation as soon as the warm chicken touched her tongue. It was perfect. She'd have to remember to have Marcus cook more often.

"It's good!" She finished chewing and opened her eyes to see Marcus standing a few inches from her. He chuckled.

"You sound surprised."

"You aren't secretly from the South, now, are you?"

"No, D.C. born and raised, I swear," Marcus insisted, raising both hands up in surrender. Mellie finished off the piece of chicken, and tossed the bone in the trash. She nodded to the stove, which was once again crackling and popping.

"You might want to check your chicken there." Marcus jumped and rushed toward the stove. He had almost forgotten about the last piece while waiting for Mellie's approval. He hated to admit it, but he was praying that his act of love would soften her towards him. Mellie poured a glass of water as Marcus bobbed the chicken around in the air before finally placing it on the plate. He turned the stove off, and then sat staring at the pan full of fat, unsure what to do with it now. The recipe didn't have directions for cleaning up. Mellie sipped her water as she watched the wheels turn in his brain. Finally, she helped him out.

"You fried it in lard, right?"

"Uh, I think so. Pig fat, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Then yes."

"Let it cool and harden, and then scrape it into the trash. You don't want to pour it into the sink, because it'll harden in the pipes. That's cast iron, so only wash it with salt and water, don't use soap or you'll ruin the pan." Marcus turned to her, amazed and awed at her knowledge. He nodded, and removed his gloves and apron. An awkward silence fell over the room after that, neither one daring to make eye contact. Finally, Marcus plucked up his courage and spoke.

"I'm sorry." Mellie looked into his eyes, then set her glass on the counter.

"Let's go sit. Please." Marcus turned on his heel and went into the living room, Mellie following closely. He sat on the couch, all the way at one end, wanting to give her the option of where she sat, and how close. Not to his surprise, she sat on the opposite end, wringing her hands together. This time, Marcus let her speak first.

"What you did… I know, in my head, that you are nothing like him. But when you went behind my back, with Olivia, and leaked that story- my heart felt the betrayal that it felt for almost twenty years. My heart hurt. And I have become so used to that that I just close myself off. And I know that's not fair to you, but it's hard for me to do anything else. I've become so used to not, not being loved-" Marcus wanted so badly to cry, hearing what she was saying, and realizing that, without meaning to, he had hurt her, more deeply than he could ever imagine. And he would rather die than hurt this beautiful women.

"Mellie, please," He slid in closer to her, not touching yet, wanting to know she was okay with it before he made physical contact. She wouldn't meet his eyes. "I am not Fitz. I will never, ever, hurt you intentionally. When Olivia told me what she was planning, I should have told you immediately. But I didn't, because I didn't realize she was planning to do it without your consent. If I had known, I would have told you, warned you, as soon as I could. I swear to you, I wasn't lying or avoiding the truth with you. It all just happened too fast." Mellie finally looked up at him as he wrapped one of her hands in his. The truth in his eyes tugged at her heartstrings. She knew he hadn't meant to hurt her, that he was going to tell her. But she still found an icy anger in her heart.

"You jeopardized my relationship with my daughter, do you understand that? Nobody comes before my child, not even you. And it is because of how I am involved with you that this happened." Marcus didn't understand what she was saying. He tried desperately to follow her logic, but, as he had learned, sometimes Mellie's logic was clear to no one but herself. "I expect that of Olivia. It's her job. We're not friends, we work together. But I never thought you'd do that to me. And maybe it's because of us, how we're… involved, that I feel so angry. Maybe it's… clouding our judgment, or my judgment-" Mellie stood up, putting her face in her hands and turning her back to Marcus. She didn't want him to see her cry. She knew what she was doing was unfair and illogical, but she had realized that she loved this man. And whenever she had loved a man before, she had gotten hurt. She could no longer let herself get hurt.

"Mellie, don't do this. I don't know what I can say to make you believe me, to make you understand that I was going to tell you, but I didn't get the chance. It all happened so fast."

Mellie shook her head, hearing the pain in his voice, her own heart tearing a little with each word that came from his mouth.

"Baby," Marcus approached her now, turning her in his arms and pulling her hands from her face. He only called her baby when he wanted her to feel special and loved, and now was most definitely one of those times. Because now he understood what was really happening. She was mad about the story, but she could get over that easily. What she was really saying was that she was feeling too much, too deeply, and was scared about what would happen. The more she felt, the harder her heart broke, when, inevitably, he hurt her. But he was never going to do that. He loved this strong, brave, stubborn, rude, emotional, impossible woman more than he had ever loved anyone, and he knew she felt the same. They just needed to say it. "I love you. And I will never hurt you. I swear. I'll let you hurt me a million times over, and I will never hurt you back. Give this a chance, Mellie. You need to understand how loved you are. How much I love you" He enunciated those last three words carefully, needing her to hear and understand and believe.

Slowly, she met his eyes, scared to let herself fall. Moments of her past flashed through her mind. Fitz, Big Jerry, Andrew, her children, blood from Charlotte's stomach, Jerry collapsing in her arms, Olivia kissing Fitz. And finally, finally, she softened in his arms. Her finger reached up to trace his face as they gazed into each other's eyes. She swallowed as his hand trailed up and down her back. She stood up on her tiptoes to meet his lips with her own. The kiss was slow and gentle, with closed lips and mutual breaths. She pulled back for air, and leaned her forehead against his.

"I love you, too."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Hey yawl! I've been on sort of a writing binge these last few days, and it's awesome! Hopefully I can keep this up:) Anyway, thank you ALL for reading, and especially for this lovely reviews! They completely brighten my day! You are all wonderful and amazing, so please, read, review, critique, and ENJOY!

Charlotte lay on her hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, with her arms splayed across her stomach. She breathed deeply, in, out, in, out, in, out. Her mind wouldn't still, no matter how hard she tried. Desperately, she tried to push the ultrasound image out of her mind. According to the doctor, she was six weeks along. When they asked her the last time she had had a period, Charlotte realized she couldn't remember. Clearly, it had been over six weeks. And that scared her. That showed her how much she had allowed herself to be consumed by Evan. She couldn't figure it out, couldn't put her finger on just when she had lost herself to him. But she knew just when she had snapped out of whatever haze he had put her in. The moment that knife sliced through her skin, her brain had rewired itself, and she knew that none of this was ok. He was twisted and evil, and he had hurt her. And now his child was growing inside of her. But no matter how hard she tried to convince herself to get an abortion, to just forget this ever happened, she couldn't. She desperately wanted to, and yet she freaking couldn't. Every time she thought of it, she cried, putting a hand protectively to her stomach, shielding the baby from herself. And at the same time, she knew she couldn't raise a baby. She wasn't strong enough, or stable enough. Plus, she couldn't bring a baby into this family. As much as she loved them, this family was crazy as fuck. This was no place to raise a child. The White House was no place to grow up. So, she would find a good family, and give them her child. That was her only option.

A knock on her door pulled her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see a man standing there, holding a vase filled with flowers. He was tan, with short hair that was slightly wild, and a five o'clock shadow that had gone ungroomed for quite some time. The flannel on his torso was clean, but clearly old, as were his blue jeans. One knee had a rip, and the other had what looked like an old greases stain. His scuffed cowboy boots shifted uncomfortably in place as Charlotte's gaze raked him over, trying to figure out who he was. For the life of her, she couldn't place him, and so she assumed he had the wrong room.

"If you're lost, the nurses' station is a little up the hall, to your right. They can help you find the right room." Charlotte returned her gaze to the ceiling, expecting him to leave. He didn't.

"I ain't, uh, I ain't lost." Charlotte's head snapped back up to him upon hearing the thick Southern drawl. She was utterly confused now. He sensed that, and took a step into the room before continuing. "You're Mellie Grant's kid, aren'tcha?"

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at him, a funny feeling in her gut. She felt like she knew this man, but didn't know where from. Wordlessly, she nodded, reappraising his image, and finally settling on his hazel eyes.

"I saw ya on the news, that story they was runnin' about how ya ain't the President's kid, an I started tuh do a little math. I had tuh look up how old ya are, but I figured out that I'm-"

"You're my dad." Charlotte's voice was painstakingly quiet as she looked at this man with a child's awe in her eyes. From the moment she had found out the truth about who she was, she had imagined her real father. She had to admit that the man standing before her was never a possibility in any of her scenarios. She had imagined kings, spies, rich celebrities, and the all-American father type she watched on t.v., but never this. This man was rough around the edges, he looked like he had worked a farm his entire life. His speech was fairly uneducated, and he didn't look like the kind of man you'd run to when you wanted to cry and be held. He looked like the sort of man you'd run from if you met him in a dark alley. But Charlotte knew it was true. He was her dad.

"Yeah." He still stood awkwardly in the doorway, not sure if he should make a move into the room.

"Would you like to sit down?" Charlotte gestured with a hand to the chair that had previously been occupied by Mellie. She should be back any minute now, and Charlotte was hoping she could make the situation somewhat less awkward. The man nodded, plopping himself into the chair, and shifting around to get comfortable. Having almost forgot about the flowers, he gasped in a breath, and set them on the bedside table.

"I brought those for ya."

"Thank you." The room fell into awkward silence for a moment, as Charlotte stared at this man, looking out of place in the pristine hospital room. Finally, he seemed to have had a realization.

"Oh, I s'pose I should introduce myself, 'cause I'm guessin' Mellie never told ya about me." Charlotte shook her head. "My name's Herb Rogers." Suddenly, the man- Herb- laughed aloud, a big, hearty laugh, made from a lifetime of being under the sun and stars. Charlotte furrowed her brows in confusion. He saw her expression, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, it's just that, I never thought I'd be introducin' myself to my own daughter, ya see!" The hilarity of the situation struck Charlotte, and she began to laugh along with him, a laugh that was not quite as hearty as his own, but just as big. A laugh filled with the tinkling of Mellie's own laugh, but the size of the man before her. And this was the sight that Mellie walked in on, the two, laughing together. But she did not join in. Her heart did not warm when she saw the two, father and daughter, together. She was not happy. Instead, her heart dropped through her body and crashed to the floor at the sight before her. And she put a hand on the door frame, steadying herself, and trying not to drop the container of fried chicken she was carrying. She had never thought… In all this time, in the flurry and fear of the tumultuous events that had made up the last week, she had never thought he would find her. She had never thought he would come searching for his daughter, or that he'd even be smart enough to figure out that she was his. The unsteady breathing exiting her mouth began to grow louder, and she stopped herself before she gave anything away, to Charlotte or Herb. Instead, she formed her face into the face smile that she had perfected over the last twenty years, and stepped fully into the room.

"What's so funny, ya'll?" Mellie set the chicken on the tray attached to the bed, and put a protective hand around Charlotte's ankle. Herb stood as she came into the room, ignoring her question, and instead pulling her into a bear hug. She stiffened under his touch.

"Mellie! I haven't seen ya in…" Herb pulled away as he mulled over the question, hands lightly brushing Mellie's ass as he did so. He turned to Charlotte. "How old are ya?"

"Twenty."

"Then, I haven't seen ya in twenty years and nine months, huh?" He looked at Mellie, smile shining, but a malicious glint in his eyes. "And ya must've just forgot tuh tell me that you was pregnant!" Mellie smiled graciously, piping a fake friendliness into her words.

"Well, I think you and I both know you weren't ready to be a father."

"Maybe I wan't back then, but I sure as heck am now!" Herb enforced his words with a strong pat to Charlotte's shoulder, smiling down at her. She smiled back up at him. He turned to Mellie, reading the angry expression in her eyes that Charlotte was blissfully unaware of, knowing exactly why he hadn't been fit to be a father. "But, ya know what Charlotte, ya've had a big last couple a days here, so I think I'll be going to my motel now."

"No, don't, you just got here!"

"Don'tchu worry, I ain't goin' anywhere. I'm stayin' right here in town, and I think we oughta wait 'til you get out of her before we do anythin' more. You just focus on gettin' better, and I'll be waitin' when ya are."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Herb smiled again at her, turning to leave. Mellie followed quickly behind him, shooting her daughter a smile before leaving the room. She caught his arm a few doors down from Charlotte's room, her voice low and dangerous.

"You shouldn't be here."

"Aw, c'mon, Mellie, she's my daughter. Course I should be here. 'Sides, I'm the only one that gets tuh be mad here. Ya didn't tell me I had a kid for over twenty years. And then I had tuh go an find out from the news." Mellie shook her head at his stupidity, firing back with venom in her voice.

"I didn't tell you because you and I both know you weren't fit to be a father. You still aren't, from the scent of whiskey and weed on your breath. That night was a mistake. Fitz and I were on a break, we'd had a fight, and you showed up. You made me feel like I was in high school again. But when I found out that I was pregnant, I knew I couldn't feel like I was in high school anymore. I had to be a mama. And Fitz was stable, he had money, and he was good to me. He raised my baby as his own, even when we had kids that were ours. And you were never anything but a drunk, drug addicted gambler. Still are. So stay away from my daughter."

Herb looked at her in amazement, unused to a Mellie who spoke her mind. But he just smiled.

"She ain't a kid anymore, Mel, she's a grown girl. So's it ain't your decision whether or not I get to see her. It's Charlotte's. And, from the looks of it, she's gon' want me in her life." With that, turned around, and clanked on down the hall, with his cowboy swagger going full force. Mellie stood there in shock, processing what had just happened. She didn't let the fear get to her though, and instead went into Charlotte's room, fully intent upon telling her just who Herb really was.

Charlotte was sitting up in bed when Mellie reentered, smelling the flowers. Mellie paused, looking at the happy expression adorning her daughter's face. She wished she could leave it there, but she couldn't risk that man hurting her daughter the same way he had hurt her. She had never loved him, not real love anyways, like how she had felt about Fitz and how she feels about Marcus, but he had been her first everything. First kiss, the first person she slept with, first man to get her pregnant. And what she'd said to him in the hallway was right. He was unreliable. Sooner or later, he'd hurt Charlotte, by either leaving, or asking for money, or drunkenly missing something that was important to her. And there was no way Mellie was letting that happen without a fight.

"So, you met Herb." Mellie decided it was best to start slow, stating the obvious.

"I met my dad." Charlotte nodded. Mellie came to sit next to her, smoothing her skirt with her hands.

"What do you think of him?"

"That he's my dad, and he's great. I mean, he's a little weird and… sort of dirty. But he just seems so familiar. It's like, everything's right, with him. I have his eyes." Charlotte looked to Mellie's own eyes then, remembering the way Herb's eyes had looked back at her, a reflection of her own. Or, she supposed, hers were a reflection of his.

"Look, baby, I know he seems great. Especially when you first meet him. He's charming and kind. And he is your biological dad. But remember that I never told him about you, or you about him. He seems great, but that's the thing. He just seems it. He has… problems. He drinks alot-"

"Well, so do you." Mellie could feel Charlotte getting defensive, but pushed on, forcing her to hear what she was saying.

"Not like that. It's all the time for him. He's only happy when he's drunk, or high. And he gambles. I can't tell you how many times he asked me for money. He's irresponsible, and I don't trust him with you. You are my baby, you are precious, and he did not, and does not, deserve to have you around. He is unstable and dangerous. He doesn't know how to be a father."

"Don't you think that's something for me to decide?" Mellie put her hand up calmly.

"Maybe if you were being logical, yes. But you aren't. You are emotional, you think with your heart. I know because I do it. But he is not good. You can't see him. He'll hurt you." Charlotte flew up from the bed, anger coursing through her, ignoring the pain in her side and stomach.

"No. No. I am not doing this. I am an adult. I get to decide whether or not I see my own father. You can't decide that. Just because he hurt you, doesn't mean he'll hurt me. You only think he's dangerous because you're scared you made the wrong decision, because the truth's come out now and you can't handle it, so you want to manipulate me into never seeing my father. But I won't do it. You kept him from me for twenty years, and I won't let you do it anymore." Charlotte was so angry that she didn't notice the pain in her stomach growing steadily stronger. Mellie stood now, too, ready to fire back.

"Charlotte, I-" A funny expression crossed Charlotte's face, and she clutched a hand to her stomach. "Charlotte?" Mellie was unsure what was happening, but could tell something was not right. She pressed the call button for the nurse, as Charlotte's expression slowly twisted into one of pain.

"My stomach. It- oh God, Mama, something's wrong." A nurse came in then, questioning the two about the situation, but neither heard. Mellie could do nothing but stare in horror as a patch of scarlet blood began to form just beneath Charlotte's pelvis.


	17. Chapter 17

Mellie wiped her sweaty palms on the front of her skirt, before she stepped into the portion of the White House that she used to call home. Her heels clicked a few times down the hallway before her legs were assaulted by two tiny, but strong, arms. She looked down, a brilliant smile adorning her face, to find her little son clinging to her legs. Fitz and Mellie had both decided to leave Teddy with his nanny for the last few days, while they tried to sort out what craziness they could. Mellie hated to admit it, but in the state Charlotte had been in, she had been none too keen on exposing her young son to her.

When Teddy lifted his head to see Mellie staring down lovingly at him, he raised both arms, his signal for her to lift him into her arms. She obliged immediately.

"Hey there little boy!" Teddy nuzzled his face into Mellie's hair, and she kissed the top of his head. "How ya been?"

"Daddy time!" Teddy said enthusiastically, clapping his hands together.

"You've been spending a lot of time with you daddy, huh?"

"Yea!" Teddy bobbed his head up and down vigorously. "Daddy said you were with Char-char, cuz you had some bisuhniss." Teddy stumbled over the big word, repeating what Fitz had told him.

"I did have some business, Daddy was right."

"Is it over?"

"Not yet, baby. I have to talk to your daddy, do you know where he is?"

"Uh-huh." Teddy wriggled his way out of Mellie's arms, tugging on the bottom of her skirt, her signal to follow him. She laughed as he made his way, very determinedly, to Fitz's office, and knocked on the open door, just like he had seen the secretaries do. Fitz looked up to see Mellie, who laid a finger over her lips, pointing down to Teddy, who was standing at attention. Fitz acknowledged him, and Teddy drew himself up to his full height of about three and a half feet.

"Mommy's here," he announced, in his biggest, loudest voice.

"Thank you, Teddy," Fitz nodded regally, and Teddy couldn't help but giggle, before running to his father, who swung him up to sit on Fitz's lap. Mellie came into the room, and stopped by Fitz's desk, watching her son and ex-husband for a moment. Fitz looked up at her, worry in his eyes, both knowing that she would only come here for one thing.

"Is she ok?" His brow creased, and his ice blue eyes went soft, scared.

"Is who ok?" Teddy asked, looking up at both of his parents. Mellie didn't want to, couldn't, have this conversation, in front of her young son.

"Teddy, why don't you go and play with some of your toys?" Mellie ran a hand through his hair as she made her request, and the little boy simply shrugged, dashing out of the room. Moments later, the two adults heard Teddy making car noises, and crashing them together. Neither one found it within them to laugh, though.

"Fitz, she…" Mellie wasn't sure how to start. Fitz could see the struggle within her, and grabbed her hand, gently. He stood, pulling her into a hug, as she calmed herself. After a moment, she pulled away, looking into his terrified eyes. She could imagine the scenarios running through his mind, and steeled herself to give him the truth. "We were having an argument, and then she said she had this pain, and then I saw this patch of blood, and the doctors came in and I thought she was having a complication from the surgery. I was so scared, and she was all twisted in pain and then… It was the baby. That was where the blood came from. She lost the baby and then she asked me to leave."

"Oh, God," Fitz breathed, falling back against the edge of his desk. He took a few shaky breaths for a moment, forcing himself to think. "It's a good thing."

"Excuse me?" Mellie was surprised at Fitz's words. He sounded almost glad.

"It's a good thing. She won't have to be a young mom, or go through an adoption, or the optics, geez the optics. We won't have to go through any of it." Mellie tried to wrap her head around just what Fitz was saying. She yanked her hand from his, and stepped backwards.

"You're saying it's a good thing, that our daughter lost her child." Mellie enunciated carefully, head tilted and brow furrowed, as she tried in vain to control her temper.

"I'm saying it's a good thing she didn't have to. She didn't have a child, not yet. She barely even had time to get used to being pregnant. And now she won't have to."

"She did have a child." The anger was clear in her voice now, but Mellie didn't care. "You wouldn't understand, you've never been pregnant, but to her, that was her child. It doesn't matter whether or not she was going to keep it, she lost a child, Fitz. You have to understand, you have to be there for her. You're her father, not Herb, and she needs you."

"Herb?" Mellie realized what she had said the moment Fitz made the connection. He didn't know yet.

"Yes. He knows. He came to her room. That's why we were arguing. She wants to get to know him. I tried to tell her that she can't, he's no good, but she wouldn't listen. So we argued, and then she was in pain, and everything happened so fast after that. But she needs you now, more than ever, as her father. You can't tell her that you think it's a good thing that she lost her baby, because it won't impact your career." Mellie couldn't hide the disgust in her voice as she yelled at Fitz. But she saw something click, in his mind, and his body sagged downwards, losing a little bit of his power. He nodded in defeat, the fear of losing his daughter to this man greater than anything else.

"Ok. Ok. I'll call David, see if there's any way we can maybe keep him from her. Did he seem the same?"

"Same as he's always been. He stank of alcohol, but I don't think she even noticed. She was so caught up in who he was, she didn't really see. And, of course, the moment I tried to explain to her why I kept them apart, she got mad. It seems that's all we do anymore, just fight, and fight, and fight. I just don't know what to do." Fitz caught Mellie's hand then, the other on her shoulder. They weren't able to support each other this way a year ago, but divorced life had changed them, made Fitz appreciate what he had had, and lost.

"Me neither. We'll figure it out together, I promise. He is not going to be a part of her life. Charlotte is _our_ daughter, no one else's."

Fitz and Mellie went back to the hospital together, ready to talk to their daughter, and comfort her however she needed. But when they got to her room, it was empty, already having been cleaned by the staff. Fitz turned on the nearest nurse, but no one knew where Charlotte had gone, just that the room had been vacant for a few hours, at that point. Nervously, Mellie called Marcus, hoping Charlotte had simply gone home, but he was at OPA, helping to handle the press and statements. Mellie and Fitz both rushed back to the car, heading to Mellie's house as fast as possible, with the sirens blaring. Neither spoke, the two simply held hands and prayed, not knowing just where their daughter could have gone.

The door to Mellie's house was open, but a dusty old Ford was parked on the street in front of her place. Fitz and Mellie shared a look, knowing there was only one possible person that Ford could belong to. Sure enough, they walked in to find Herb lugging Charlotte's suitcase down Mellie's beautiful staircase. Charlotte wasn't far behind him, stepping gingerly down the stairs. Mellie froze, but Fitz's anger was coursing through him once more. He hadn't seen this man in over twenty years, but still hated him with every ounce of his being. And taking Fitz's daughter away wasn't helping Herb's case. Charlotte looked up just in time to see her parents, and watch as Fitz grabbed Herb by his shirt sleeve. Fitz was about six inches taller than Herb, and definitely in a lot better shape. Herb was so surprised by the attack that he dropped Charlotte's suitcase on the floor, where it skidded to rest just in front of Mellie. She stared down at it, heart breaking, truly and completely breaking, when she realized what her daughter was doing. Fitz still had Herb in his grasp, and his body was trembling as he tried to stop himself from punching the man. Charlotte's own blood boiled with a similar anger. None of this was fair, and she was not about to let them stop her.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

"You are not going anywhere with him. I don't care what you think, this man is not your father."

"You don't get to decide what I do. You're not my father, either." Fitz pulled back from Herb at her words, stung. He looked at his daughter with his sad puppy eyes, but there was not an inch of give in her body or voice. She stood there, one hand on the banister, the other on her cocked hip, and stared him down.

"Charlotte-" He started, but was cut off.

"No, don't 'Charlotte' me. I had a realization, lying in that hospital bed. You both lied to me. My whole life was a lie. And if you hadn't, I wouldn't be here, right now. I'd be somewhere else in the world, living a normal life. I wouldn't have spent the last six months in an abusive relationship, because I would never have met Evan. Herb isn't President, I wouldn't have a Secret Service detail. I wouldn't have spent the last three days in a hospital. I wouldn't have been pregnant." Charlotte took a deep breath, preparing herself to say the words she knew would kill her parents. There was a second of hesitation in her eyes, a moment where she wondered if she was just doing this out of spite, out of vengeance, and not real pain. But she went ahead, anyways. "I wouldn't have lost my baby if it wasn't for the two of you." At that, Fitz fell completely silent, and Herb just sat there, a smirk on his face, waiting to take his daughter away. But Mellie's hand flew to her mouth, and she let out a strangled cry that no one would have ever believed could have come from a human, much less Mellie Grant. Because those words, those words, were almost exactly what Mellie had said to Fitz during their divorce. Those words were meant to hurt. And they did just what Charlotte wanted them to.

For a second, Charlotte felt a pang of regret, hearing the sound emanate from Mellie's lips. But the second passed quickly, and she continued down the stairs. Herb wandered over, picking her suitcase up, and flashing Mellie a grin that she didn't see. Both she and Fitz were focused on Charlotte, who made her way determinedly to the door. She didn't look back at either of them, though, as she stepped over the threshold. Herb was quick, tossing the suitcase in the backseat, hopping in the driver's seat, and starting up the truck with a bang. Mellie and Fitz stood in the doorframe, lost on what to do. All Mellie could do was ask, one last time.

"Charlotte, please, you don't have to do this." At that, Charlotte turned.

"Yes, I do. He's the only one that's never lied to me. I am so sick of the lies. This whole town is full of lies. And I'm over it. I need something new." Charlotte stepped delicately up into the passenger seat, pausing before she closed the door. "I'll call you in a few days." And with that, she slammed the door shut. Herb sped off too quickly, leaving Mellie and Fitz to do nothing but watch. She heard his heavy breathing beside her as they waited for the car holding Charlotte's agents to follow the old pickup. But after about a minute, no car followed. Immediately, Fitz turned to his own agents.

"Where's her detail?" The two agents shared a look, before one responded.

"She doesn't have a detail, sir." Fitz felt Mellie tense by his side.

"What do you mean, she doesn't have a detail? She's the daughter of the President, of course she has a detail."

"No, sir. Ms. Grant refused service. She is a legal adult, she has the right to refuse service."

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" Fitz's hands balled into fists at his side.

"I thought you had been informed, sir." Mellie rushed back into the house, not wanting the agents to see her fear. Charlotte, away from them, with Herb, she could handle, if she had a detail. At some point, Charlotte would have seen Herb for who he really was, and come back home, uninjured. She would have been protected. But Charlotte, with Herb, and without the Secret Service? Mellie didn't want to think about what could happen. The kind of places Herb went… the people he hung out with…

"Mellie," Mellie jumped when she felt Fitz's hand on her back. But she just shook his head, and the two stood there, silent, processing what was happening.

"Olivia," Mellie muttered, after about five minutes.

"What?"

"Olivia." Mellie repeated, an idea taking hold in her mind. "She has people that can do things… find people. They can find Charlotte, and watch her. They can do that. It'll be ok. They can do that." Fitz couldn't tell if Mellie was repeating herself for her own sanity, or for his benefit. But he simply nodded, and they called up Olivia, asking her and her associates to meet them at the White House.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Hey ya'll! So, this chapter isn't really full of the Charlotte-learning-her-lesson action I know you want, but trust me, it's getting there:) Anyways, thank you all so, so much for reading! You guys are amazing, and I am seriously so thankful! In case you're wondering, the song in this chapter is called "Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)", and it's by Gary Allan.

The six of them sat awkwardly in the Oval office. Huck and Quinn stood a few feet away from the door, the spies in them always ready to make a quick exit. Fitz leaned against his desk, staring intently at Olivia, obsessed with her even in the midst of this family drama. She however, sat on the couch opposite Mellie and Marcus, and refused to glance at Fitz. Marcus had his arm around Mellie, who nuzzled into his shoulder. Fitz felt a slight pang of jealousy at the intimate way Mellie let Marcus hold her, knowing that those hands and arms had once been Fitz's, but that he had torn that apart. And now he couldn't even hold Liv that way.

Moments of quiet passed as Huck and Quinn discussed possible moves to find Charlotte.

"Does she have a cell phone?" Huck suddenly asked, looking from Mellie to Fitz.

"Uh, yes, she does, but I don't think she'll be picking up our calls to tell us where she is." Mellie muttered, annoyed that these two supposed geniuses were thick enough to think of that. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Well obviously not. But if we could get her on the line for twelve seconds, we can trace her location. She just needs to pick up the phone." Fitz uncrossed his arms, looking at Mellie for permission. She nodded immediately.

"Ok, let's do it." He nodded back at Huck and Quinn. Huck pulled out a computer, and began typing away. Quinn walked over to stand in front of Mellie, who looked at her, confused.

"We'll need your cell phone so we can connect it to our trace software."

"Oh." Mellie reached into her purse, pulling out her cell phone and giving it over, worry creasing her pretty face. Marcus simply rubbed her back, at a loss for what else to do. After a few minutes more of quiet, the two computer geeks still muttering over the computer, Huck looked up to Mellie and Fitz.

"It's ready. Do you want to make the call or should I-"

"I'll do it." Mellie stood, shaking herself into some confidence, and held her hand out for the phone. This was her daughter, she would be the one to make the call. The room took a collective intake of breath, holding it as Mellie tapped on Charlotte's contact, and then put the phone on speaker. They heard it ring once, twice, three times, and then it stopped. It didn't go to voicemail, or get picked up, it just stopped. They all knew what that meant. Charlotte wouldn't even answer Mellie's call. Mellie put a hand to her forehead, and Fitz slammed his hands onto his desk.

"What else?" Mellie growled at Olivia and her two coworkers. No one responded, and Mellie repeated her question, and even harder edge to her voice. "What. Else?"

"Mellie," Olivia began, giving a warning look to her counterpart. "When people are in the wind, it's hard, to track them-"

"I'm not asking you, Olivia!" Mellie exploded. "I am asking those two freaks over there, who seem to be able to do all the shit no one ever should. So I am talking to you two." Mellie rounded on Huck and Quinn, who had taken on an icy demeanor towards her. "What else is there? What else do you do to find people?" Marcus stood up as Mellie moved closer to Huck and Quinn, fully aware of her unstable state, but also knowing that these were two people who didn't take kindly to being yelled at. He grabbed her by the shoulders, trying to steer her towards the couch, but she shook him off.

"Babe, why don't you sit-"

"No!" Mellie turned to Marcus, her voice breaking, becoming scarily small. "My daughter is gone. She left with a man she knows nothing about. He will use her and hurt her, and put her in danger. And I need to find her. So there has to be something else." She looked back at Huck, who, for once, softened, just a little bit. If that was his son, if that was JAvi that they were talking about, he would do everything he could to find him.

"Well, I could hack into the traffic cameras, see if we could find where the truck went. But without knowing where they are going, it's going to be hard, they don't have traffic cameras on the dirt roads, the rural places. We don't know the license plate number, so I can't hack into the police database and put a BOLO on the car. She doesn't have a GPS on her phone, she's too smart for that, so that doesn't leave us with much. I'll track her card in case she uses it, but that will only give us the location where it was used, she could move from there. I would."

Fitz had a realization then, and uncrossed his arms, throwing his hands up.

"Karen."

"What?" No one understood.

"She'll talk to Karen. She always talks to her sister. We can bring her here, and ask her to call Charlotte, and you can track her phone." Everyone stared at Fitz, in his rare moment of intelligence.

"That would work, as long as she stays on for twelve seconds." Huck nodded his agreement.

"Do it." Mellie said, with finality. So Fitz made the call, and they settled in to wait once more.

The old Ford was making it's way down an old, two lane road. Charlotte was staring out the window, as she had been for the last two hours. Somehow, Herb had understood that she wanted quiet right now. But as he saw her turn her phone over, click ignore, and turn it back, facedown on her lap, a slight shiver of hurt in her top lip, he decided it was time to break her silence. He hadn't been lying, when he said he wanted to get to know his daughter.

"Your mama calling you?" He glanced between her and the old road. She just nodded. "Why ya so mad at her, anyways?" Charlotte turned to him then, finally, not understanding why he asked that question.

"Why am I mad? Because she lied to me my whole life. It's like… waking up one day and suddenly having no idea who you are. Everything you thought you knew is just gone, and you're floating somewhere, lost and confused and alone. It's like… she didn't love me enough to tell me the truth, to let me be who I really am. She wanted to make me something I'm not, make me someone's child, when I'm not his. I wasn't enough. She had to manipulate even the most basic part of me." A tear fell down Charlotte's cheek, and she quickly wiped it off with the sleeve of her shirt. "But it doesn't matter now. I'm figuring things out for myself."

There was a pause, and Charlotte could feel Herb thinking through what she had said. For a moment, she was afraid he would make some excuse for Mellie, say something about how she'd only done it for Charlotte's own good. She felt the preemptive anger boiling in her, but Herb surprised her.

"I'm mad she kept ya from me, too." He nodded, a strong nod, with an air of finality. Charlotte could tell that was more emotional than he was used to getting. Quickly, he cleared his throat, changing the subject. "Ya really wanna know where ya came from?" He reached out, and turned the radio dial up loud. As the song became clear, he reached over to roll the windows down, a soft breeze blowing throughout the car, ruffling Charlotte's curls. "This is where ya come from. Down home country music."

Charlotte smiled as she realized she recognized this song. Mellie liked to listen to country music sometimes, when she was sad and feeling the need to be home. As the song swung into the chorus, Charlotte began to sing along.

" _Every storm runs, runs outta rain_

 _Just like every dark night turns into day_

 _Every heartache will fade away_

 _Just like every storm runs, runs outta rain."_

Herb smiled when he heard her sing, and joined in for the second verse, tilting his head back and opening his mouth wide, as if he was breathing the music.

" _So hold your head up and tell yourself that there's something more,_

 _And walk out that door._

 _Go find a new rose_

 _Don't be afraid of the thorns_

' _Cause we all have thorns._

 _Just put your feet up to the edge,_

 _Put your face in the wind._

 _And when you fall back down, keep on rememberin'"_

They sang the rest of the song together, loud and proud, inhaling the scent of nature and the open road. Charlotte was surprised by how comfortable she felt, how right she felt, here, in this truck, in some place she'd never been, with a man she hardly knew. She felt like this could have been her whole life, these father-daughter bonding moments, instead of tennis games and awkward family dinners, photo-ops with two fighting parents, weekends split between Santa Barbara and the White House. And Mellie took it all from her.

"Ya can sing, girl! Ain't anybody ever tell ya that?" Herb turned to her in awe as the song finished. Charlotte felt herself blush uncontrollably at his praise.

"I don't really sing for anyone. I've sang with Mom before. She has a beautiful voice."

"I forgot your mama could sing. I used to tell her she oughta get a record deal, make somethin' of herself, instead a bein' somebody's wife. She never did wanna listen to me."

"She doesn't listen to anyone." Charlotte said, bitter once more. Herb, though, ignored her statement.

"But you, girl, ya need ta do somethin' with that voice of yours. Have ya ever thought of that?"

"Not really. It kind of wasn't an option, growing up." Herb let out a large guffaw at her words.

"I'm s'posin' that neither was this, but here ya are! I say, if ya want it, do it."

Charlotte once again slipped into her thoughts. She had always loved to sing, but she was telling the truth. It had never seemed like an option. Herb was right, though, neither had this. Screw her parents, and their ideals and wishes for her life. This was _her_ life. She was going to do whatever the hell she wanted with it.

Karen entered the Oval, scared of what she was going to find. All her parents would tell her was that their was a family emergency, and they needed her right away. She wasn't an idiot, she had seen the news stories going around. At first, she had thought they were lies, made up by yet another person trying to ruin her parents' image, not realizing the effect it had on the Grant children. Of course Charlotte was Fitz's daughter. Her parents had been together when Charlotte was born, she and Fitz were so similar, this story just wasn't true. But then her parents had rushed her to the Oval, the call coming from both of them, _together_. And Karen had begun to wonder if the story really was a lie.

The door swung inward silently as she tapped on it, and she saw six pairs of eyes immediately turn to her. There was a pause, and then Mellie stood from her spot on the couch, rushing to wrap Karen in her arms. Karen took note of the dark circles under Mellie's eyes, the worry crease between her brows, and the way her arms held Karen tighter than normal. She hugged her mom back, realizing the truth.

"Mom," She mumbled into Mellie's shoulder. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Mellie pulled back, looking at her younger daughter, completely at a loss for words. Fitz intervened then, putting a hand on Karen's shoulder, and steering her to the couch.

"Your mother and I made a decision when Charlotte was born, a decision together, that we thought was best for this family. We never thought any of this would happen."

Karen simply nodded, taking in Fitz's answer without question, just as she had always done. But she still didn't know anything.

"But, so… why am I here? I mean, I don't see Charlotte, and we're in your office, Dad, and Olivia and her people are here, so..."

"Karen," Mellie began, putting a gentle hand on her knee. Fitz stopped her though, saving her the pain, for once, of having to explain.

"Your sister spent the last few days in the hospital-"

"The hospital?!" Karen exploded off the couch. "Why? Why didn't you tell me? Is she ok? Can I go see her."

"Karen, hold on." Fitz put his hands on her shoulders, and she stopped, trying to quell the panic rising in her, the same panic she had felt as she watched Jerry collapse on that Virginia stage. "She is fine. But while she was in the hospital, her- biological- father came, And well… Your sister has been very angry with your mother and I the last few weeks. And when she realized who he was, she decided to take off, with him. And we don't know where she went. Now, this man, is not a good guy. He has a lot of problems, and we need to find your sister, to protect her." Karen nodded along quickly, trying to process the information.

"Ok. Ok. I'm not going to ask you anything else, because I know from experience you probably won't tell me. So just tell me how you want me to help." Here, Huck jumped in.

"We're trying to track your sister's phone. She won't answer your parents' calls, but your father thought she might answer yours. And then we can find her."

Karen nodded, looking at her parents. In the last two years, she had become amazingly strong, and she was the glue that kept the siblings together during the turmoil after Jerry's death and the divorce. She would do anything she could to help.

"Tell me what I need to do."


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Hey ya'll! I have been terrible at updating, and I deeply apologize! But, I do have a few days off of work this week, and so I will do my best to update with a few more chapters. Meanwhile, enjoy this one, in all it's sisterly glory!

After about five hours of driving, Herb turned off of the highway, and into a tiny little town. Dusk was upon them, and Charlotte's stomach had informed the two that she was rather hungry. She read the sign on the way into town. It said "Welcome to Burnt Chimney." She snorted aloud at the name, having a hard time believing someone had actually thought that was a good name for a town. Herb caught her snicker.

"Funny name, ain't it?" He shot her a half smile, joining in on her amusement. She threw her hands up in the air.

"I mean, how do you come up with something like that." She began to imitate what she thought was an old man, her voice taking on a deeper tone. "I'm going to make a new town, right on this spot, and I'm going to call it… hmmm… let's see… I think 'Burnt Chimney' is a fitting name. Because there are so many chimneys around here." Her voice returned to its normal pitch. "How does that come to your mind? At least they didn't name it after themself. That's always seemed a little vain, to me."

"My only guess is that they thought they was gonna have so many fires in the winter, 'cause it's so cold. How else ya come up with a name like that?" Charlotte shook her head, still laughing lightly as Herb pulled into a parking spot in front of a seedy looking diner. Its name, quite fitting for the small town vibe Charlotte was getting, was simply "Mama's Place."

They hopped down from the truck, slamming the doors. Charlotte shivered slightly in the cold air, and Herb put an arm around her, the first intimate, father daughter touch they had shared. They opened the door to the sounds of voices yelling. Charlotte quickly looked up to see a sports game on the t.v., which seemed to be the cause of the anger. Herb made himself at home at the counter, but Charlotte stood for a moment, appreciating the sense of normalcy here. This was the kind of place Mellie would never let herself be caught dead in, and the Grant children never went to places like this, by extension. The customers were all talking and interacting, and a slight smoky haze filled the room, a side effect of the cigarettes in the hands of many of the patrons. As Charlotte found her place next to Herb at the counter, he had already made fast friends with the man on his left. They were absorbed in a conversation about the game and the players, and so Charlotte continued to appreciate her surroundings.

The place smelled like fresh baked apple pie and bacon, mixed with cigarette smoke. The plates in front of all the customers were piled high with steaming food, most of it fried and full of empty calories. A clear, fridge-like appliance sat in the far corner of the room, with round rotating shelves in the middle of it. It was filled with pies, cakes, cookies, and more home-cooked sweets that made Charlotte's mouth water. There was an old jukebox next to it, a bit dusty, but the bright colors still shown through. Her eagle eyes could make out the names of a few of the artists, and she saw Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, and George Strait. Just as she had in the truck with Herb, she felt a sense of comfort and homeliness. But she couldn't tell if that was due to her newfound freedom, discovering these parts of the world that she had missed out on as a child, or a real feeling of having found her place.

"You know what you want, hon?" The round waitress came over, her ruby red lips twisted into a warm smile, her hair-sprayed, dyed blonde hair standing perfectly atop her head. Charlotte brought herself back the the present, quickly scanning the menu in front of her.

"Um," Charlotte hesitated, having no idea what to eat. The choices were astounding to a pallet that was so used to filet mignon and kale salad.

"How 'bout a cheeseburger?" Herb jumped in. "I doubt your mama made ya many of those." Charlotte smiled up at him, and he patted her shoulder.

"Yes, may I have a cheeseburger, please?" The waitress nodded vigorously, but didn't reach to write anything down.

"Do you want the french fries or the fruit bowl, hon?" Charlotte's eyes got big, just like a child observing a pillowcase full of candy on Halloween.

"French fries!" The waitress laughed.

"French fries it is, then!" She craned her neck back around, towards the opening to the kitchen.

"Hey, Vi, we gotta cheeseburger with fries. Make it fast, this girl's hungry." She winked at Charlotte before walking away. She came back moments later, two gigantic glasses of soda in hand. She set one down in front of Charlotte, and one in front of Herb. "You gotta have soda with your cheeseburger, to do it right. Your food'll be right out."

Charlotte turned to Herb, leaning on the counter and sipping her soda. "What did you get?"

"Pot pie. It's how I judge a new place. If their pie's good, I like it. If not, I don't." He shrugged to punctuate the simplicity of the situation, and once more, Charlotte felt anger bite at her heart, anger that she missed sharing in Herb's diner exploration for the last twenty years.

"So, where are we going, exactly?" Charlotte gulped down more soda, relishing the sweet bubbliness.

"Well, 'fore I found out about you, I was set to meet a friend a mine about two hours from here. He's in this band that's touring, an sometimes I play guitar with 'em, when I got nothin' better to do. But since you're with me, I s'pose-"

"No, don't do that! I'm just going wherever you're going. Like if I wasn't with you."

Herb hesitated. Charlotte thought it was because he didn't want her to feel out of place, but it was really for a different reason. He was starting to feel a bit uneasy about his plan. When he first found out about Charlotte, well, he hadn't dreamed she would just come with him like this. And then, when she had said yes, he never imagined she would just give in to what he wanted. And he had really thought he'd only use her for a quick buck, get a bunch of money and high-tail it outta there. But when he had heard her sing, he saw dollar signs. More dollar signs than he thought he would get just by having Grant money. He could imagine the money rolling in, what he could buy, how he could pay off that damn debt… But maybe, just maybe, this wasn't right. He shook it off after a moment, though, his need for money outweighing his flimsy conscience.

"Alright then, looks like we're going to play with the band!" Their food arrived then, and Charlotte lit up as she bit into the juicy burger.

"So, what do you do?"

"Whatcha mean?'

"I mean, you just kind of popped up, out of nowhere, and you were able to just go on the road with me. Your job must be really flexible."

"I ain't got a job, that's why it's so flexible."

"Oh." Charlotte was unused to that. Everyone had a job. "Then, how do you get money?" There it was, that bluntness she had inherited from Mellie. Herb remembered just why Mellie used to piss him off so much.

"Just, uh, odd jobs, here an there, gets me enough to live."

"That sounds like fun."

"Can be." Charlotte was done with her burger now, but Herb was only halfway through his pie.

"Why aren't you and Mom together anymore?"

"She didn't tell you?" Herb knew the answer, of course if Charlotte knew, really knew, she wouldn't be here, but he wondered what she did know.

"Not really. She just said you weren't fit to be a father. It's not like she's all that good of a mother, anyhow." Charlotte kept her gaze steady on her nearly empty plate, trying to keep the mood light.

"We just had some problems. Wanted different things outta life, that kind of thing. We weren't even together when she got pregnant, that's why I didn't know. She was just all mad at Fitz one day and called me up, we were highschool sweethearts, an everything. She was my first love, real love. And when they call you up, you go do whatever they want, you know?"

"Not really." Charlotte shook her head sadly. "I've never been in love."

"Well, good. Them boys'll break your heart. Anyways, next day I go to see her an she says she made a mistake, an we ain't ever gonna happen. Next I hear of her, she's First Lady o' the damn U.S. of A."

Charlotte's cell phone rang then, the loudest sound in the diner.

"Your mama again?" Charlotte shook her head as she read the caller I.D.

"It's my sister. I have to take this." Charlotte hopped from her stool at the counter, and strode outside. "Karen?"

"Charlotte, where are you?" Karen's voice on the other end of the line sounded scared, and Charlotte knew her baby sister had been crying. The sound of Karen's voice almost made her cry, too.

"I'm ok, Karen. I'm somewhere in Virginia, I think."

"Why? Mom says that you went with your biological father. She said that he's a bad guy, and you have to come home."

"Yea, well, Mom says a lot of things, Karen. He's not a bad guy, he's just not powerful or rich. She's just mad because I'm making my own decisions, and being my own person, for once." Charlotte couldn't help the biting tone to her voice, the defensive edge that came from Karen's words, which Charlotte knew was just a spit-up of what Mellie fed her earlier.

"Char, please. We're all really worried about you. Mom and Dad told me what happened, and, Char, you're not thinking straight. I remember after Jerry died, I went to that party, and then there was that sex tape, and it was just because I was grieving. You're grieving too. Learn from me, what I did. Don't do anything you'll regret."

"I'm not grieving, Karen! I am fine. I just want to know my dad, is that so wrong? I want to know the man Mom kept from me my entire life. And I like him. He's normal, and funny, and like a real dad. He doesn't push me to do things I don't want to, or make me act a certain way, he's ok with just me."

"Charlotte, come one! Why do you keep blaming just Mom for all this? She wasn't alone, for your information. But you know how much Dad loves you, he's been there your whole life, he raised you-"

"He doesn't show his love very well. I didn't realize lying was the new way to say 'I love you.'"

"Just come home, please. Mom said this guy does things, like drugs, hard drugs, and the people he's around are dangerous."

"And what else does she say? That he's also a murderer? Or maybe some Russian spy?"

A different voice could be heard in the background then, a deeper, male voice.

"I got a location." Charlotte understood, then, what was happening.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" All empathetic feelings for her sister disappeared, replaced with anger, complete and total anger.

"I had no choice, Char. I was so worried, and then they told me all that stuff-"

"Yea, whatever." Charlotte hung up the phone, and stomped back into the diner. Herb was finished with his meal now, and looked up as Charlotte dropped herself back on the stool.

"Everythin' alright?" Charlotte was quiet for a moment, before turning to his hazel eyes, the ones that matched hers.

"How far is that town we're going to?"

"'Bout two hours."

"Can we go tonight?" Herb wasn't sure what had brought about the change in Charlotte's demeanor, but shrugged.

"Don't see why not." The waitress came then, dropping the check in between the two. Herb pulled out his wallet, ruffling around a little, before clearing his throat, and giving Charlotte his best embarassed look. "Do ya have any money?"

"Oh. Uh, of course!" Charlotte pulled her card out quickly, laying it on the bill. She didn't see the glint of demonic happiness in Herb's eyes as the waitress took the bill back. Then, they headed out and onto the road.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Ok, so this chapter is slightly smutty, but in a sweet, hopefully enjoyable way. Next chapter will have more action, I promise. I just felt that this really needed to happen for Mellie, because I swear that girl feels like she deserves nothing.

As she heard the line go dead, Karen tossed her cell phone on the couch and thrust her head in her hands, very much the spitting image of her father. Just as Charlotte and Mellie had always been similar, drawing them closer together, the same could be said for Karen and Fitz. Jerry had always been the odd sibling out, such a random mix of his parents he was really like neither at all. Huck kept typing away at his computer, working to get an exact address for where Charlotte was. Karen knew she had done what her parents wanted, but she couldn't help but feel guilty. The pain and betrayal in her sister's voice made Karen wonder if she should have just left it all alone, and let Charlotte duke it out with their parents, instead of taking sides like this. She tried to remind herself that she wasn't taking sides, not really, she was only looking out for her big sister, same as Charlotte had done for Karen when they were younger. It didn't work so well. Charlotte's voice kept playing over and over in her head, "Yea, whatever."

When Karen looked up from her palms, she found both her parents staring at her intensely. She tilted her head, considering what to say.

"She doesn't believe it. Whatever he's said to her, she's completely convinced he's some sort of perfect father, and like he's what she's been missing all of her life." Karen watched the pain strike across Fitz's brow, and she stood up, comforting him in an extremely mature way. "I think she's just lost, Dad, she doesn't mean it."

"We shouldn't have told her." Mellie's voice was almost silent, it was so low and quiet. Everyone but Huck looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean? She knew." Fitz stared at his ex-wife in confusion, wondering if the stress was getting to her.

"I mean we should have lied, more. We should have told her it was a genetic anomaly, or something. Anything that would have stopped all of…" Mellie waved her hands frantically in the air. "This."

Fitz's anger began to get the better of him. The solution to this wasn't more lies, that was what got them here in the first place.

"Or maybe, you just should have owned up twenty years ago. Or stayed with her the whole time, so she couldn't run away. Not more lies." Fitz's voice was completely raised when he finished, and Olivia attempted to step in between them, but it didn't work.

"Ok, why don't we-"

"So this is my fault? You were the one who told me you'd fix it. You said that this was best for our family." Karen stared in angered shock between her two parents.

"Can you two stop it? Don't you get it? It's because of you two that she did this. With your fighting and your lies, I mean, why the hell wouldn't she want to get away?" Karen stormed out of the office, slamming the door forcefully behind her. Fitz made a move towards the door, ready to follow Karen, but Huck's voice stopped him.

"She's in Burnt Chimney, Virginia." Olivia nodded, and Huck and Quinn began to pack up their stuff.

"What are you doing?" Mellie thought they were about to leave and be done helping them, but Olivia calmed her.

"We're going to get you daughter back, Senator." Quinn stuck a hand on her cocked hip, looking defiantly at Mellie's dominant stance. But Mellie just nodded, in no mood for an ego battle at the moment. She began to follow Huck and Quinn out the door, but Olivia grabbed her wrist.

"Mellie, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to get my daughter back."

"Mellie, you can't." Fitz shook his head, sitting back down at his desk.

"You may be content to just sit here, and let whatever happens happen, Fitzgerald, but I am going to find _my_ daughter, and get her back before that man does something she won't recover from." Mellie threw all her venom into her words, making sure that Fitz knew his place. "It's time for me to be her mother."

"And what about Karen."

"Karen will be fine." Mellie didn't even hesitate as she said those words, and everyone, including herself, realized that she hadn't been lying when she had said she hadn't wanted kids when she and Fitz had been married. Most normal parents don't pick one child over the other, but in that moment, Mellie picked Charlotte, and she knew she would have done that no matter what. Fitz knew too, and felt a small pang for his other two children. He had no doubt Mellie loved them, but to grow up in the shadow of her love for another sibling, that must be painful.

"Fine. Go." He crossed his arms as Mellie exited the room, following Olivia and her team, with Marcus close behind her.

The dysfunctional little squad made it to Burnt Chimney early the next morning, as Huck, Quinn, and Marcus had all taken turns driving. Huck held out his phone, following the map to the location they had gotten from Charlotte's phone the night before. The ride had been tensely silent. Huck and Quinn weren't much for conversation normally, and Olivia spent nearly the whole ride tapping away on her phone, and making calls to what Mellie guessed were different press connections of hers. She could feel Marcus next to her most of the ride, when he wasn't driving. He was always touching some part of her, and she knew it was a sign that he wanted to talk, but the car ride was no time for that.

Gravel crunched under the wheels as the car pulled up outside the diner, which was much quieter that morning than it had been the previous night. Huck and Quinn both jumped out of the car, and Mellie made a move to follow, but Marcus grabbed her. She turned around, anger boiling in her blue eyes.

"What?" she spat. He didn't even flinch, being very used to her snapping at him.

"You can't go in there, Mel." She pulled her shoulders back in defiance.

"And why not?"

"Because, Senator, this is your state, and you're running for President. Almost every person in the diner is sure to recognize your face. This will go a whole lot quicker and easier if Huck and I go in there, because we won't cause a scene." Quinn slammed the door shut when she finished explaining, making it very clear that Mellie was not to follow. Huck asked Mellie to pull up a picture of Charlotte, so they could show the patrons and employees, in case anyone knew where she went.

The door swung open easily when Huck pushed on it, and every pair of eyes in the place went straight to the two newcomers. Though they didn't know it, the same waitress from the night before greeted them.

"Hi there! Would ya'll like a menu?" Quinn put on her best sweet girl smile.

"Oh, no thank you. We were actually just wondering if you'd seen this girl? She's my sister, and I was supposed to meet up with her, but I think her phone died, because I can't reach her! She's so silly, always doing things like letting her phone die on her." Quinn kept her smile pasted on as the waitress looked over the photo of Charlotte. Huck stood silently in the background, hands folded in front of him. The waitress shot him a wary look before turning her attention back to Quinn, and lying through her teeth.

"I'm sorry, can't say I've seen her. You sure you were supposed to meet here?"

"Oh, yes, I'm sure. I just can't imagine where she's gone, I'm starting to get worried about her." Quinn kept up her smile, shoving the phone the tiniest bit farther towards the waitress. Again, she just shook her head. Quinn let her smile fall slightly, adding a little pout to her lips. "Well, thank you anyways." She turned to see two other people in the diner, not noticing the man who sat in the booth farthest back. Neither of the other two claimed to have seen Charlotte, so Huck and Quinn went back out to the car, stomping in anger.

"Well?" Mellie asked, as soon as they were back within earshot. Quinn just shook her head. Mellie fell back against Marcus, working hard to hold back her tears, and fear. She didn't want to imagine where her child might be at that very moment. Just as they were about to start the car and drive off, the third patron, the one who had gone unnoticed, came striding out of the diner, waving his hand at them. Huck rolled down his window, and the man stepped up to them.

"Can I see that picture again? I think I saw her." Quinn quickly turned the phone to face the stranger, and he only looked at it for a few seconds before nodding. "Yep, I saw her alright. She was with a man, though. Older than her. I think he might have been her father."

"Do you know where she was going?" Mellie kept her face slightly hidden in the shadows of the seat in front of her, and her voice was insistent, nearly to the point of rudeness. The man, though, ignored her tone, and nodded.

"I think I heard him say they were going to a town about two hours from here, because he's going to play in a band." Mellie snorted at that, but Quinn shushed her.

"Thank you so much. Which way is it? "

"Well, they took off up that way," He pointed west on the road in front of them. "But I can't say if they turned or not." Before anyone could say anything else, he turned his attention directly to Mellie. "Is she your daughter?" Mellie hesitated, before slowly nodding. He gave her a look of sad empathy. "My daughter took off on my wife and I when she was nineteen. We haven't heard from her in over ten years. Let me just tell you, I hope I'm not being too forward, that whatever you two are fighting about, whatever made her take off like that, it's not worth it, in the end. Because in ten years, you won't even remember why she left, you'll just know she left, and you'll blame yourself for it every single day."

Mellie shared a look with the man, and he smiled, saluting her slightly, before heading back into the diner. Marcus wrapped his arm around Mellie's shoulders, and she leaned her head towards his. He turned, kissing her forehead as Huck pulled onto the road, in the direction the man had pointed. Mellie was shaking now, and Marcus held tight, so no one else knew but him.

"We'll find her. I promise." Mellie didn't move against him, but he knew she heard.

An hour later, they pulled off the road at the first exit they found, and Mellie didn't wake up until she felt the car pull into a space at a roadside motel. She woke with a start, looking around as the car stopped. Huck and Quinn got out, heading for the office. Mellie threw a questioning look Olivia's way.

"Why are we stopping at a motel? We know where Charlotte went, we have to go find her!" But Olivia shook her head, giving Mellie a stern look.

"We don't know where she is. We know she's two hours from that diner, but that could be a lot of places. Quinn and Huck are going to narrow it down to as few as possible, based on where they are, and look to see if they have bands playing. And you need to rest. When was the last time you slept?" Mellie shook her head. She couldn't actually remember.

"I don't need to sleep. I need to find my daughter. You people need to find my daughter." Olivia leaned across Marcus's lap, putting a hand over Mellie's.

"We can't go on a wild goose chase all over Virginia. That won't work. Huck and Quinn know what they're doing. We'll find Charlotte, but you need to have patience. You are the client. Let us do our jobs."

Huck and Quinn returned then, holding three keys. Marcus and Mellie took one, and Marcus pulled Mellie into the room. He pushed her to sit down on the bed, and her head instantly went to her hands. He sat next to her, not sure what to do. This was new territory for both of them, and Mellie wasn't used to letting someone get this close to her, and see her in this condition. He simply rubbed her shoulders, though, and she let herself have a moment of gratuity for his understanding. After a few more minutes, he stood, pulling her to her feet with him. He reached around for the zipper of her dress, but she started to shake him off.

"I'm not in the mood, babe." He smiled at her, and how innocent the words sounded, coming from her mouth.

"I know. I was thinking more along the lines of a nice, hot shower. You need to relax, get some sleep. They'll wake us when they're ready to move." Mellie didn't nod her assent, but instead turned around, moving her hair, and presenting him with the zipper. He slipped the dress off of her, and led her into the bathroom, before turning on the shower, and undressing the rest of her. When he felt the water temperature was perfect, he gestured for her to step in, not being able to keep himself from admiring her beautiful form. She may not think so, but he knew her naked body was the most glorious thing in the whole world.

Mellie paused before getting in, then turned to give Marcus a slightly seductive, slightly scared, look. "Join me?"

Marcus quickly stripped his clothes off as she stepped in, not wasting any time in joining her under the comfortably hot spray. At first though, he didn't touch her in any sexual way, simply grabbed a washcloth and body wash, and gently ran it over his love. Mellie stood there, allowing herself to find some relaxation in being taken care of. This part of Marcus was so different to her. She was unused to this. Not showering with a man, she and Fitz had done that plenty, but the simplicity of it. He wasn't trying to open her legs, or push her head down towards his penis, he was taking care of her. Just like he always did.

After he was finished with her body, Marcus moved to wash her hair, and Mellie picked up the washcloth, giving his form the same soft treatment he had given hers. When they had finished their respective tasks, Mellie leaned forward and upwards, laying a soft kiss on his lips.

"Thank you." She whispered, pushing her body against him. He tried to ignored his bottom half as her breasts brushed up against his chest, but then he felt her hand travelling down his abdomen. He stopped her, feeling awful that he must have made her think she had to do this when she wasn't in the mood.

"Mel, it's ok. You don't want to. It's ok." A tear fell down her cheek, and the only way Marcus knew this was because he suddenly tasted salt. His hand left hers to rub soothing circles on her back.

"I know it's ok. Thank you. But I want to. Let me." Marcus just shook his head again, realizing then that she needed something, a release that only he could give her. And she needed it much more than he did right now.

"No. Let me take care of you." He knelt down on the floor of the shower, and she gave him a surprised look, as his hand spread her legs open. For a moment, he just stared at her, and she almost became uncomfortable, even though his gaze was full of awe and love. "You. Are. So. Damn. Beautiful." He punctuated each words wish a kiss that went lower and lower. She tilted her head close as his lips moved closer to the space between her legs. And for once, Mellie let herself enjoy being taken care of.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Oh my gosh you guys, I have to say, this chapter was seriously hard to write. Charlotte gives me a headache. I'm not too sure where this is headed now, but I'll just keep writing, and see where I go! Anyways, please read and review! I absolutely love reading all the reviews, they keep me going! Thank you all so much for reading my little story, you are all AMAZING! Also, if you are curious, the song I used is called "Love Triangle" by RaeLynn.

The next night, Charlotte found herself taking a good, long look at the bar Herb was heading into. He didn't notice when she stopped outside, shooting a wary eye at the tinted windows and lopsided sign. No one was really outside, and it was dark. Charlotte didn't like to think of herself as a baby, but this really was the kind of place she avoided at all costs. The places that smelled like beer and weed, cheap perfume and body odor. Herb opened the door, turning to wait for her, taking note of the nervous way her hands pulled together in front of her body, then broke apart to run through her curls, shaking out her mane as she continued appraising her location. A man stepped out of the bar then, dressed in jeans, worn down cowboy boots, and an old, dirty t-shirt. He brought a cigar up to his lips, lighting it, and catching a glimpse of Charlotte standing there, so very clearly out of place in her blouse and flats. He leered at her, taking a slow drag from the cigar, and blowing ringlets of smoke out. His teeth were stained yellow from a lifetime of nicotine and bad hygiene, and the bulge in his pocket told her he was carrying more than a large penis. She averted her eyes as she almost felt his eyes rake up and down her body, and even though she was fully clothed, she wrapped her arms around herself, hoping to feel a little less naked. Herb motioned her inside then, but still, she hesitated, not being able to move from her uncomfortable spot because she wasn't sure what awaited her inside. But, she finally took a deep breath, convincing herself that Herb would never bring her into any danger.

"Come on, girl, I ain't wanting to wait outside forever." Charlotte felt, more than saw, the man's eyes go to Herb, and he nodded his appreciation that Herb could snag someone like Charlotte. Her temper got the better of her then, and a bit of Mellie rose to the surface.

"He's my father." She stomped off from her spot then, shooting the man a glare meant to kill, as she moved inside the bar, Herb closing the door behind her.

If Charlotte thought the outside of the place looked dangerous, she realized, that was child's play compared to the inside. There seemed to be a uniform she hadn't gotten the memo for. The men were all dressed in jeans, cowboy boots, and a t-shirt. The women had low V-neck shirts on, accentuating their breasts with push-up bras, along with tight, bedazzled jeans, and stilettos. Charlotte felt extremely out of place in her expensive, modest clothing. There was a small stage on the far side of the bar, where a band was setting up, and Charlotte could make out a ring of tables through the haze of smoke. Next to the stage was a door, but Charlotte couldn't figure out where it went. It didn't look like a bathroom to her. Right next to the entry was a dusty, sticky bar, with bowls full of peanuts, and a line of liquor bottles longer than the Great Wall of China behind it. The bartender was a woman, dressed similarly to all the others in the bar, but for some reason, the outfit looked about ten times better on her curvy figure. Angel wings were tattooed across her chest, right above her breasts, and she carried herself in a way that let everyone there know just who was boss. Herb walked straight up to the woman, who leaned over to accept his offered kiss on her cheek, but there was an edge in her eyes as she looked him over. He spoke to her, but Charlotte wasn't able to hear what he was saying over the din. Then, he motioned her to come forward. She did as he asked, and felt his strong arm wrap too tightly around her shoulders.

"An' this here's my daughter, Charlotte. Charlotte, this is Darlene. She owns this place, and also a recordin' studio not too far from here." Darlene stuck her hand out to Charlotte, and Charlotte shook it, surprised by Darlene's hard grip, and the way she dug her acrylic nails just slightly into Charlotte's hand, showing who was the boss in this situation.

"Nice to meet you, Darlene." Charlotte's manners were never going to leave her, and she really didn't want to say that right now. Her gut told her that this introduction was anything but "nice."

"Likewise." Darlene pulled her hand back slowly, appraising Charlotte with her venomous green eyes. She tucked a piece of raven hair behind her pale ear, tilting her head as she turned to Herb. "Now, Herb, baby, I know you didn't come back here without the money you owe me. So let me see it."

"Money? What do you owe her for?" Charlotte was confused now, and desperately trying to ignore the sick feeling twisting her stomach apart, and instead pray that Herb owed Darlene for a coffee, or lunch, or something. But from the embarrassed way Herb was now rubbing the back of his neck, Charlotte knew that wasn't it.

"Well, now, see, I actually don't have your money just yet, sweetheart, but my daughter here, ya see, can really sing, an' I was thinking-"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Charlotte jumped in again, confusion reforming into anger as she realized Herb was trying to bring her into his problems.

"Jus' wait, Charlotte." The way he snapped at her scared Charlotte into staying quiet for the time being. "Anyways, I was thinkin' she could maybe sing for ya, an' maybe if ya like, ya could record her, an' we could just call it even."

Darlene didn't say anything for a long, drawn out moment. She already knew her answer to Herb's proposal. He was idiotic. How he thought he could make up his debt by having his daughter sing was completely beyond Darlene. But she wasn't ready to say that quite yet. She liked to play with people who made her mad, and Herb had made her madder than anyone when he had taken off without paying her what she was owed. It was a miracle no one had found him and shot him yet, and he was stupider than dirt to have returned here, penniless. So, she would play with him, and then kill him slowly, later. But his daughter… She turned her eyes on Charlotte, wondering what to do with her. Darlene was a business woman, and a mobster, she wasn't about to let Charlotte just walk out of her when she realized what happened to Herb, what Darlene did to Herb. That was putting Darlene in a dangerous position, a position where she could easily go to jail. But, for the moment, Darlene couldn't figure out what to do, except kill her too. But there was time before that needed to be decided. So, play with them she would.

"Alright, Herb, why don't you send her up there to sing for me, and we'll see about that, huh?" Darlene shot Herb a wink, and Charlotte's stomach twisted itself up worse than it ever had. She knew that whatever was going to happen afterwards was not going to be good. And still, she needed confirmation, of some sort.

"At least tell me what you owe her for, Dad." Charlotte forced herself to keep her tone light, remembering Mellie's and Karen's words, about how Herb was such a bad guy, an addict, about how he did drugs. And now, Charlotte could tell, he associated with some very dangerous people. She hadn't missed Darlene's nod to the extraordinarily large man in the corner, the one who had been outside when Charlotte arrived. He was now slowly moving towards the group, hand on the bulge in his pocket. She made sure he didn't see her looking.

"Oh, darling, your daddy stole some of my finest meth, made off with it in the middle of the night, without paying me. Now, I don't know about you, but I really hate it when people take my stuff." Darlene shot Charlotte her brightest, most innocent smile, putting danger in her words. But Charlotte didn't react the way she was expected. Instead of looking like the scared rabbit Darlene pinned her for, Charlotte drew herself up, and turned to Herb.

"I just have to make a really quick phone call, first."

"To who?" Herb gripped her arm, afraid to let her go.

"Just Karen. She called me earlier, and I'd be the worst big sister ever if I didn't let her know I was ok." Herb tilted his head, trying to read Charlotte's expression, and finally nodded. As she walked away, Darlene leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"What kind of dumbass thinks a few songs are gonna repay his debt?" Her voice sent chills down Herb's back, and he turned to her, fear in his eyes.

"What ya mean?"

"Come on, baby, you really didn't think I'd let you off that easy. No, you, darling, are a dead man. I'm just having some fun, first. Let's see if your daughter really can sing. Maybe she'll get me some money." Suddenly, a thought came to Herb. He wasn't exactly the smartest man alive, but he was a survivor. And right now, all he wanted was to survive.

"Do ya know who her mother is?"

"Who?" Darlene replied, already bored with the conversation. She amused herself by playing with the sound her nails made as they hit the bar.

"Mellie Grant." At that, Darlene's head shot up to meet Herb's eyes. He started nodding like a maniac. "Yea, an' I'd bet she'd pay a pretty penny to get her baby girl back, don'tchu?"

Darlene let him shiver under her withering gaze for a moment, before she smiled wide, patting his hand. She wasn't normally one to let a grudge go this easily, and she was pretty sure she'd still have Herb killed after they got the money, but for now, she was having fun imagining just how much money Charlotte was going to get her.

"Herb, baby, you got yourself a deal."

Outside, Charlotte was desperately trying to stop her hand from shaking as she dialed her mother's number. It was all she could do to keep the tears from washing over her face as her breath kept coming in short, quick bursts. She wanted to run away, but couldn't figure out where to go. She hadn't seen another town in miles. Charlotte was beating herself up inside for not listening to her mother. If she only had been mature enough to look past the anger, and to believe that Mellie really just had Charlotte's safety in mind. But she hadn't, and now she was stuck, and she had no idea if she was going to make it out of this place alive. There was not a doubt in Charlotte's mind that Darlene would kill her without a moment's hesitation.

Finally, Charlotte managed to get her fingers under control long enough to punch her mother's contact, and waited, holding her breath, as it rang twice. Then, she heard Mellie's voice on the other end of the line, and the tears she had been fighting threatened to well up again.

"Charlotte?" Mellie sounded surprised, and very, very scared.

"Mom," Charlotte sobbed out, not being able to say anything more.

"Charlotte, where are you? Please tell me."

"You were right, Mama. He's… There's a woman, and he owes her money, for drugs. He uses drugs. And she's scary, so so scary. I don't…" Charlotte couldn't finish her sentence, and Mellie's heart threatened to beat out of her chest at the fear in her child's voice.

"Charlotte, baby girl, tell me where you are, please." Charlotte turned around, searching for the sign, and tilted her head to read it.

"Angels and Beer. It's some bar." Charlotte could hear typing on the other end, and then mumbling as someone tried to figure out how far they were from Charlotte.

"Ok, baby, ok. Huck says we'll be there in fifteen minutes. Just sit tight, ok?" Charlotte had just started to reply when the door to the bar opened, and Herb popped his head out.

"Ya ready?" He asked, his tone overly upbeat for the situation. Mellie's blood boiled as she heard his voice. Charlotte just nodded.

"Talk to you later, Karen." Charlotte mumbled into the phone, and hung up. She followed Herb back inside, standing beside him as he resumed his place at the bar. The band, she noticed, wasn't even finished setting up. He really didn't need her back inside. But then again, Charlotte supposed, maybe he was worried she was throwing a wrench into his plan. Which, of course, she was. Trying to, at least.

Darlene offered them both drinks. Herb asked for a beer, but Charlotte just wanted a water. She wasn't about to let herself get the slightest bit tipsy when she wasn't sure just where this night was heading. She barely sipped on her water as they waited for the band to finish. Mellie had said fifteen minutes, and Charlotte was counting down every one of them.

Thirteen minutes later, the guitarist nodded at Darlene. Charlotte shot Herb a questioning look, remembering that he said they came here so he could play guitar. When he didn't return her gaze, she realized he must have just been lying, and her head spun around on itself, wondering just where the lies had begun, if anything he had said was true, besides the fact that he was her biological father. She headed to the stage, after a pointed look from Darlene. She caught him and Darlene talking as soon as she was out of earshot, and looking at her, and the sick feeling in her stomach made itself known again. Something was very, very wrong, and Charlotte's intuition told her that Darlene and Herb were plotting something much scarier for her than singing onstage. She turned to the band, ready and waiting for her song choice. After a moment of discussion, the guitarist started to strum the opening chords. She kept her eyes carefully on the door as she began to sing.

" _Sittin' on the front steps, little white suitcase_

 _Hearin' that diesel before it hit the front gate._

 _His headlights burning down a Friday night._

 _Southern belle statue_

 _Standing in the screendoor_

 _Watching her whole world head for an old Ford._

 _With a man that can't look her in the eye._

 _Then I run to him, big hug, jump in_

 _And I cry for her out the window._

 _Some mamas and daddies are loving in a straight line_

 _Take forever to heart and then share a long sweet ride_

 _But some mamas and daddies let their heart strings tear and tangle._

 _And some of us get stuck, in a love triangle."_

As Charlotte finished the first chorus, she couldn't help but remember all the times her parents had fought when she was in the house, all the times she'd heard them yelling hurtful things at each other, trying to break the other one down. Flashes of memories flew through her brain. She remembered the first time Mellie had taken her, Karen, and Jerry to Santa Barbara, without Fitz, and how empty she had felt, like her family was broken. Which, she supposed, it sort of was.

" _Bowling alley burger, fries and a milkshake_

 _Headed to the same old two dollar matinee._

 _Baby how's your school been, and how's your mom?_

 _Patsy Cline echoes back off the dashboard,_

 _Staring at my boots and the dusty old floorboard._

 _Baby two weeks ain't really all that long._

 _Then I run, to her, wrap my arms around her skirt_

 _And I cry for him out the window."_

At that moment, the door opened, and Huck and Quinn stepped inside, followed closely by Olivia, and then Mellie and Marcus. Mellie searched around for her daughter, until she heard a familiar voice coming from the stage.

" _Some mamas and daddies are loving in a straight line_

 _Take forever to heart and then take a long sweet ride._

 _But some mamas and daddies let their heart strings tear and tangle._

 _And some of us get stuck, in a love triangle."_

Huck muttered something in Quinn's ear, and the two started to make their way towards the stage. Mellie followed, after she shook Marcus and Olivia off of her arm. She hadn't seen Herb yet, but he sure as hell had seen her. Charlotte made eye contact with Mellie just as she moved into the last chorus, and neither one moved her gaze.

" _Some mamas and daddies are loving in a straight line_

 _Take forever to heart and then take a long sweet ride_

 _But some mamas and daddies let their heart strings tear and tangle._

 _And some mamas and daddies ran out of love in '94_

 _And some mamas and daddies don't even talk no more_

 _And some mamas and daddies let their heart strings tear and tangle._

 _And some of us get stuck, some of us grow up, in a love triangle."_

As she listened to her daughter sing that beautiful song, Mellie realized something. Yes, Charlotte was mad because Mellie lied. But, more than anything, Charlotte was heartbroken because she felt she had gotten lost in the feud between her parents. Mellie's and Fitz's twisted, tumultuous, broken, toxic marriage hadn't just hurt Mellie, it had hurt her children, and now, Charlotte was hurt most of all.

As the last chords played out, the crowd applauded. Charlotte stepped off of the stage, smiling, but immediately felt someone yank her arm. She turned to find Darlene's giant leering down at her. Mellie watched as he started to pull her daughter towards the door next to the stage, and weaved through the crowd, yelling for Charlotte. Huck and Quinn heard Mellie's cry, as did Marcus and Olivia, but none could make it through the crowd fast enough to get to Charlotte. Mellie, however, had the strength of a mother, and pushed quickly through the crowd as the man pulled Charlotte through the door. Marcus was yelling for Mellie now, as he saw where she was going. Fear ripped through him as he ran in her direction, but she was through the door before he had even made two steps in her direction.

Charlotte felt herself being pushed down into an old wooden chair. She looked up to see both Herb and Darlene standing above her. Darlene handed her a glass of water, and Charlotte drank about half of the glass, her nerves making her extremely thirsty.

"What are we doing back here?" She tried to keep her voice innocent, as if she still thought Herb was getting out of his debt with her singing voice.

"Charlotte, darling, I don't think you're really that stupid. You see, your daddy, here," Darlene put one of her claws on Herb's shoulder. "Has told me just who your mama is. And I think she and your real daddy would be willing to pay a pretty penny to see you alive."

Charlotte couldn't stop herself from shaking at the terrifying way Darlene spoke to her. So she said the only thing she could think of. She thought it would be intimidating, but she was horribly wrong.

"I'm not that stupid, but you are. She here, right now, and she's not about to let you get away with this."

"I know Mellie's here." Herb intoned darkly. The tone of his voice scared Charlotte. When he said Mellie's name he sounded… pissed, and heartbroken. And... Charlotte realized what it was he really sounded like. Vengeful. Herb sounded downright vengeful. And that scared Charlotte more than losing her life. He sounded like he wanted to hurt Mellie. But before Charlotte could say anything more, her world started to go fuzzy. She looked slowly down at the glass in her hand, and realized just how idiotic she'd been to drink it. Darlene noticed, and let out a cold laugh.

"You, darling, are about to go to sleep. And if your mama comes in here like I think she will, I'm of a mind to take her, too. I think her and Herb here have got a few… unresolved issues, shall we say? And I think he'd like to resolve them." Darlene winked at Charlotte. The last thing Charlotte saw before the fuzz took over her whole world was Mellie rushing through the door, and the big man grabbing her, before bolting the door shut. Charlotte hoped to God that whatever drug Darlene had given her made her imagine the whole thing.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Sooooo this chapter was very hard to write. I know where I want this to go, in the end, but getting past all the nitty gritty is going to be hard. Let me know what you guys think about this, please! And thank you all for reading!

SHIT.

Charlotte quickly squeezed her eyes shut against the bright lights assaulting her vision. She put a tentative hand to her temple, trying to rub out the burning sensation. Her head felt completely pressurized, and her limbs were slow. It was almost as if the connection between her brain and body was restricted. For a few moments, she wallowed in her inability to do anything, before her body gradually became accustomed to the sensation of being awake after being forced to be asleep. She became aware that she was laying down on a soft surface… a bed, maybe? The air around her was chilly, and she felt goosebumps forming on her skin. There wasn't a single sound to be heard in the room, even though Charlotte was straining her ears, trying to discern just where she was. Eventually, her memory caught up with her waking body, and the events of… well, she wasn't sure when exactly they occurred, but the events that transpired just before the drugs knocked her out cold came to the front of her mind. She remembered Darlene's little speech to her, and how Herb just stood there and let it all happen.

Charlotte almost wanted to break down then, thinking of Herb. She couldn't tell if she was angry at herself for being so stupid, at Herb for being such a manipulative ass, guilty for not giving Mellie the benefit of the doubt and believing her, or utterly distraught that her biological father didn't actually want to get to know her after all. Whatever it was she was feeling, she knew it all boiled down to one person: Herb. No matter how many ways Charlotte turned the situation around, it always led back to him. He was the root cause, the problem. And Mellie was going to be worried-

Hold on one fucking minute.

Charlotte sat straight up then, eyes wide open, but not yet noticing her surroundings. Her eyes were glazed over as she tried desperately to recall what had happened just before the fog took over. Thinking about her mom had triggered… something. But what it was, she couldn't for the life of her figure out. She just sat there, fiercely trying to piece together the puzzle pieces lying amongst the fog. She could see Mellie's face, looking more terrified than Charlotte had ever seen her, and some extremely big hands, and Herb's face, eyeing Mellie like a piece of meat, and Darlene's snarl. And then finally, finally, Charlotte forced her brain to remember. And then instantly wished she hadn't. Because what she remembered sent a bolt of fear straight through her heart, and everything stopped. She stopped breathing, her heart stopped beating, and her brain stopped thinking.

Seconds later, Charlotte gasped in a breath, finally taking in her surroundings. She scrambled off the bed and onto the dirty, beat-up hardwood floor. The room was painted a soft cream color, but the ceiling was cracked, and the paint on the walls was peeling in multiple places. The bed was the only furniture in the room, and it sat in the middle. It was covered only in a sheet, with a yellowed pillow lying at the head. The pillow was dented in the center, and Charlotte guessed she must have been sleeping on it. The bed itself could have been pretty, if the wrought iron frame was cleaned of the dirt and rust. Directly in front of Charlotte was a rickety wooden door, sagging in on itself, chipped in multiple places. She didn't dare try to open it, because she was more scared of whatever was out there than being in this room. At the far end from Charlotte was a window, covered in a thick, dusty purple curtain. She gingerly made her way towards it, the sunlight peeking around the edges still causing her head to pound. Slowly, she drew the curtain back, to reveal dirty glass. She tried to lift it open, but it had been sealed shut. Of course.

Charlotte allowed herself a moment to look out the window, wondering if she could make some sort of escape plan. Granted, she still had no idea where Mellie was, now that she established these freaks had taken her mom too, but planning calmed her down.

The distance from the window to the ground was long enough that Charlotte determined she must be on the second floor. She stared out the window, towards the horizon, squinting her eyes to look as hard as she could, but no matter how hard her eyes worked, she couldn't see anything, even in the distance. Wherever they were, it was secluded as hell, and that did not bode well for Charlotte and Mellie. The field surrounding the house was yellow, and lines could be made out on the ground, leading Charlotte to believe that it was used for farming at some point, not that that was helpful to her in any way, shape, or form.

Charlotte forced herself to turn away from the window before the miles and miles of pure land caused her to lose all hope. As she turned back towards the room, she let herself have a moment, just one moment, of fear. In the last two years, she had developed a method that worked for her. Whenever she was overwhelmed, like right after she found out that her dad wasn't really her dad at all, she let herself have one moment to feel whatever she needed to feel. And when that moment was over, she was back in control, and doing whatever she needed to do. So, she stood there, counting out twenty slow breaths, feeling her heart race nearly out of her chest, and the walls of the room close in. And when she got to twenty, she turned towards the door, and tried turning the handle.

The rusty gold knob turned easily in her hand, and she jumped back in surprise as the door swung inwards. Even though she was trying to open it, she wasn't exactly expecting it to be that easy.

She steeled herself as she looked out at the narrow, dark hallway. She didn't see anyone, and so stepped over the threshold of the door. As her foot landed, the floorboard creaked, and she froze, waiting a moment to make sure no one came out of the shadows, before moving fully into the hallway.

On her right, she could see a rickety set of stairs, and could just make out hushed voices. She did not want to go that way, especially since her main goal right now was to find her mom. Mellie would know just what to do. She always did.

There was only two more doors on the hallway, and one of them was slightly ajar. Charlotte decided she wasn't going into that one first, since it was highly unlikely someone as terrifyingly smart as Darlene would leave Mellie in a room with the door open.

As Charlotte made her way towards the last door, all the way at the end of the hallway, she didn't notice that the hushed voices downstairs had stopped talking. And as she wrapped a shaky hand around the doorknob, the same doorknob that was on her door, she didn't notice the creak of the stairs as Darlene ascended them. And that was why, before she could even turn the knob, moving so slowly because she wasn't quite sure what she would find, a hand, adorned in blood red acrylic nails, clamped down on her shoulder.

Charlotte froze. She didn't move her hand from the doorknob, but didn't move to turn it, either. She sucked in a breath as the hand began rubbing her shoulder, in a way that would have seemed loving in any other situation.

"Now, darling, when you are a guest in someone's home, it's only polite to tell your host you've woken up before you go creeping about their house. Didn't your mother teach you that?" Charlotte didn't have to see Darlene's face to know that sickening smile was spread wide across it.

"I'm not a guest." She had meant for her voice to come out sounding strong, scary even, but instead, it came out raspy and terror-ridden. Darlene just laughed, and spun Charlotte around to face her. One hand stroked Charlotte's cheek, and Charlotte tilted her head, trying to get away from the hand. Every fiber in her being was telling her to run, to fight, to do anything but just stand there, but she couldn't. Mellie was the fighter. Mellie wouldn't let anyone touch her baby girl like that, but Charlotte couldn't do anything other than stand there under Darlene's feral gaze.

"Well," Darlene dropped her hand from Charlotte's face, the sound of her voice making it seem like they were having a normal conversation. "I suppose you want to see your mama, now, don't you?"

Charlotte didn't answer immediately. There was something so deeply dangerous about Darlene's question that, suddenly, Charlotte didn't know if she would want to see her mother. The thought hadn't occurred to her until just that moment, but she began to wonder if their abductors were capable of more than just kidnapping. She tried to stop the fear gripping her heart as she wondered just how twisted Darlene was, just how much Darlene loved pain and suffering. Because something about the way she asked her question made Charlotte think that this wasn't going to be a kidnapping for ransom. Something made her think that Darlene had a lot more in store, and she was terrified to find out. But still, she found herself nodding her head, because she needed to see that her mom was at least alive.

So, Darlene opened to door with a sweep of her arm, the other hand making it's way back to Charlotte's shoulder.

"Ta-da!" She announced.

Charlotte stared at Mellie, sitting in the center of the room, tied to a chair. Her head was drooped towards her chest, and for a moment, Charlotte couldn't tell if she was even alive. But the slow and steady rise and fall of Mellie's chest told Charlotte that she was alive, just asleep. She made a step towards her mom, but Darlene's ironclad grip on her shoulder stopped her. Charlotte pushed Darlene off of her, but was quickly spun around and pushed back up against the doorframe, a hand at her throat. In that moment, she really wished she hadn't called off the Secret Service.

"Uh-uh, darling. You don't do anything unless I say you can. Now, your mama's just sleeping. And don't you worry, I haven't hurt her. Yet." Darlene's last word made Charlotte shiver.

"If you want money, I'm sure my mom can get you however much you need, and then-" Darlene let out a cold laugh.

"You just think you're so smart, huh?" Charlotte didn't answer, just stared wide-eyed at Darlene. If she wasn't after money, Charlotte had no idea just what she wanted, and just what the purpose of all this really was. "She'll give me money, don't worry. It's just that, first, we're going to have a little fun. Now, Herb, bless his little heart, has asked me not to hurt you, darling. It seems he feels a little guilty, seeing as you are his daughter, technically. But your mama? She's fair game."

"Why are you doing this?" Charlotte shook her head, completely at a loss. This woman had absolutely no logic. Again, though, Darlene just laughed coldly.

"People like you two have always made me so mad. You just get everything handed to you, and yet you still want more. You are rich, and superfluous, and you think you can just throw money at a problem and make it go away. Political people, they don't really care about anyone in this country other than themselves. And your mama is the perfect example. She's not even from Virginia, and yet she still felt she had the right to come on in here and take up a Senate seat. And now she wants to be President? All because her life has just been so hard." Darlene's tone became mocking as she said the last sentence.

"And poor little Herb. She broke his heart. And he is none too happy about that. And I think he's looking for a little revenge, too." Something about the way she spoke was just so… unstable. And Charlotte didn't have a doubt in her mind that Darlene believed whatever twisted fantasy she had made up in her mind to convince herself that Mellie was some sort of evil, and all Darlene was doing was getting retribution for the people of Virginia.

"Now," she pulled her hand away from Charlotte's throat, pushing her out the door. Charlotte heard Darlene click the lock before shoving Charlotte roughly towards the stairs. "Let's go have breakfast, shall we?"


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Ok, so tell me what you guys think of this chapter! Also, I'm curious as to how much detail/violence/scary kidnapping torture stuff you guys want, so please let me know! I don't want to write anything to freaky if you guys don't want it, but I also want it to be freaky enough for ya'll! So just let me know (you can PM me if you want to!) Thank you all so, sooo much for reading my little story, you guys are AMAZING!

Three hours after he had watched the door shut behind Mellie's back, after he had tried to open it, after he, Huck, and Quinn had gone racing around trying to find out where in the hell Mellie and Charlotte could have gone, finally breaking into the room, only to find it empty, three hours after Marcus thought he might die from losing Mellie, he sat at the table with his co-workers, eyes glazed over, mind twisting up on itself from all the horrible scenarios he was drawing up in his head. After a life living in the worst part of town, and seeing and hearing things no one ever should, Marcus was drawing up some pretty terrifying scenes in his head.

Olivia, Huck, and Quinn were all yelling at each other and talking over one another, attempting to come up with some sort of plan, or just something concrete, really, and utterly failing.

"We have to find them, and then we can sneak in there and kill them, and we'll get the Senator-"

"No killing, Huck! No murder." Olivia was shouting loudest of all, but that didn't make much of a difference.

"We have to go back into that room. There's going to have to be something there to tell us-" Huck cut Quinn off, and she shot him a pissed off look for the fiftieth time in the last hour.

"I would never leave anything telling in a room where I took someone. It's just-"

"Oh, please, Huck, you're a trained killer. This hick town chick probably hasn't ever done anything like this before. She's bound to leave some clues, and we need to find them."

"Quinn's right-"

"Going back there will just waste time, we need to-"

"Stop!" Marcus threw his hand up towards the group, surprising everyone with his first word in three hours. For a moment, he just stayed perfectly still, slowly losing the far away look in his eyes. Then, he turned to Quinn. She had been his first real friend at OPA, hell, in a long time, and Marcus trusted her with his life. "Do you really think going back is the best idea? If we don't find anything, won't it just be a waste of time?"

Quinn held Marcus's gaze steady for a moment, reading his fear. She had never seen a person look this scared, even when she was torturing them. Quinn sighed with empathy, and nodded her head sharply. "What else do we have?"

She was right. All four of them knew it. They had nothing else except the room. So, they climbed into the car, and headed back to the bar.

Marcus realized he was shaking as he stepped in the door to the bar, Olivia behind him. She put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him. Thankfully, it was pretty empty, and all Huck and Quinn had to do was sweet-talk the bartender into taking an early smoke break, and they had the place all to themselves.

"You don't have to go in there with us, you know. You can wait out here, and we'll tell you if we find anything." For once, Olivia was trying really hard to be aware of someone else's feelings. But Marcus couldn't do that. He owed it to Mellie. He loved her more than anything, and he was not about to let some freak take her and do God-knows-what to her.

As he stepped over the threshold of the door, Marcus found himself praying to a God he wasn't even sure existed that these psychopaths didn't rape Mellie. After all she'd been through, he wasn't sure if she could handle that. And he couldn't handle not having her. She was on the path to do great things, and he was fully aware that he would kill anyone who messed with that.

Huck and Quinn got to work immediately. The room was very small, and filled with alcohol. Clearly, this was the bar's pantry. The bottles of alcohol lined the walls, but the center was left open, save for a single wooden chair in the middle. Marcus wandered around a little bit, trying to figure out how these people got Mellie and Charlotte out of the room. They obviously hadn't gone back through the door, or they would have been seen, but there wasn't any other door in the room.

"Found something." Huck held up a plastic bag, the bottom filled with a white powder. He opened it and lightly sniffed, then quickly closed it again. "Cocaine." He quickly moved the bottles on that same shelf, and let out an amazed breath. "Holy shit."

The shelf was much deeper than it appeared, and the bottles lined it at the very front, concealing the plethora of drugs hidden in the shelving. The other three moved over to where Huck was, staring at the stash. Marcus and Quinn began to move bottles on other shelves, finding more drugs. Marcus remembered the drug dealers in his neighborhood, and felt a new wave of terror wash over him. Those people had no morals. He kept taking bottles off the shelves, absentmindedly, almost, before he took a good look at the shelf his hand was on. It was empty, but only had one layer of bottles. That seemed like a waste of space in a place where space was very necessary. He was confused for a moment, before squinting into the dark, behind the shelf. He could just barely see a crack of light towards the left hand side. It took him a moment before he realized what it was. A door.

Quinn noticed him staring open-mouthed at the shelf, and came over to take a look, quickly noticing what it had taken Marcus a few moments to. She pulled Huck over with her, and they worked on clearing the rest of the shelf of bottles quickly, before pulling it away from the wall, to reveal a full door. They stepped back to let Marcus open it, watching as his hand wrapped slowly around the handle, and pushed down. He was trying not to get his hopes up, telling himself that this might be nothing more than how they got out, and they still had no clues. But as the door swung outwards ever so slowly, his heart beat just a touch faster.

The light burned the four pairs of eyes, and they all simultaneously shut against the sensation. Huck was first to adjust, opening his eyes and lumbering out of the door, taking in the new surroundings. The door opened up to a dusty gold field that seemed to stretch on to the ends of the earth. It was lacerated down the center by an old dirt road, which Huck squatted next to. He looked at the ground for a moment, then looked all around it, at the field, before turning back to the group.

"These are fresh, within the last few hours." He pointed his finger at a pair of tire tracks through the dirt. Marcus fell to his knees, forcing himself not to cry, but taking in huge, irregular breaths. Quinn turned to him, and patted his shoulder.

"I knew we'd find something. We'll get them Marcus." Huck went to bring the car, and they set off to follow the road, keeping a close eye out in case the previous car's path changed at any point.

Charlotte eyed the nasty-looking bowl of oatmeal Darlene had set in front of her, not moving to pick up the spoon laying next to it. The way it looked wasn't the only reason she wouldn't touch it, though. She was afraid Darlene had laced it with something. Herb and Darlene sat there staring at her, but she kept up her rigid posture, not making eye contact with either of them. The giant, as Charlotte had decided to dub him, was sitting just off the kitchen, in an alcove in front of the door, running a whip through his hands. There was a greedy look in his eye, a glimmer of evil, as he did so, staring pointedly at Charlotte before turning his head towards the second floor, right where Mellie's room was. Promptly, he looked back at Charlotte, and sneered. He bared all of his teeth in a way that was so purely psychotic that Charlotte shivered, her heart beat speeding up, and her breaths causing her whole body to jerk. Darlene noticed the exchange, and shot Charlotte a sneer of her own. Herb just sat there, looking as careless as could be as he picked the dirt out from under his fingernails.

"Is little George scaring you?" Darlene as, sugar dripping from her words. "You know I told you we won't hurt you, darling." Charlotte couldn't help herself. She laughed, a completely amazed and shocked laugh.

"You think I care? You think I'm scared for myself?" She hollered. But Darlene didn't move, just kept on smiling.

"Oh, no, sugar. I know you aren't. That's what's gonna make it so much more fun!" She jumped her shoulders and rubbed her hands like a gleeful child on her birthday. Charlotte averted her eyes, pleading to Herb with her gaze. He looked up at her and just shrugged. And with that, she lost it on him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? You found me, remember?" Charlotte pointed an accusatory finger at him. "I had just lost a baby, and you knew Mom and I were fighting, and you came to me. I was vulnerable. You asked me to go with you. You said 'Baby, if I'da known about you before, you can bet your ass you wouldn'ta been raised by that fool Fitzgerald.' You said that! You made me think-" Charlotte gasped in a breath and clutched her stomach, trying to calm her body, before looking back at Herb with loathing in her eyes. "You made me think Mom was trying to keep me from you because you would have been so good, but really, she was keeping you away so I wouldn't get hurt. And now I'm the reason she's hurt!" Charlotte angrily wiped the escaping tears from her eyes, feeling weak for showing her fear and pain. For a moment, Herb almost looked guilty. But only for a moment. He stood from the table then, swaggering over to Charlotte to look down on her, leaning in so close she could smell the beer on his breath, not saying a word for a moment, as Darlene piped in.

"Your mama isn't hurt yet, darling. But she will be." Herb just maintained eye contact with Charlotte before speaking.

"I never woulda wanted you, because you'd alway be _her_ daughter. And I hate anything that has to do with _her_." He righted himself ever so slowly, not breaking Charlotte's gaze as he watched his words nearly destroy her for two seconds, before her upper lip curled, and she spat in his face.

"I'm proud to be her daughter." He just wiped his hand down his face, dropping the saliva to the ground. He turned to face Darlene.

"I think it's time we woke up Ms. Mellie."

"I do too, darling." Darlene reached out a hand to grip Herb's bicep as he turned towards the stairs. "But I think you should wait a moment before seeing her. Wouldn't want you to break out and kill her now, would we?" Darlene gave a cold laugh. "Besides, I always get first dibs, or don't you remember?" She nudged him with her elbow, as Charlotte's eyes went wide with the realization that this wasn't the first time these maniacs had tortured someone.

The giant stood from his chair, knocking into Herb with his elbow as he moved behind Darlene. She turned on Charlotte as Herb went outside to smoke. Charlotte stumbled as Darlene yanked her from the chair, adrenaline pulsing through her body. She struggled against Darlene's talons, but it was no use.

"I thought you weren't going to hurt me." Darlene tilted her head towards Charlotte, studying her a moment as the giant slogged up the stairs, trailing the whip behind him.

"Not physically. But I'm sure it would hurt you just as much to watch me hurt your mama now, wouldn't it?" Charlotte shook her head as she tried to move backwards, but there wasn't really anywhere to go. She didn't want to watch. She couldn't watch. But Darlene just grabbed a twist tie from the table, forcing Charlotte's hands in front of her, and tightening the plastic until Charlotte's wrists burned. Darlene grabbed the part of the tie in between Charlotte's wrists, and shoved her forward, up the stairs. Charlotte ascended as slowly as possible, fully aware of Darlene's intimidating presence below her. She reached the end of the hall, where the giant was waiting, and he opened the door, to reveal Mellie still hunched over in the chair. Darlene pushed Charlotte into a chair in the corner, before turning on Mellie.

It was then that Charlotte noticed what else was in the room. On the far end from her was a table, with straps on each of the four corners. Opposite that was a large, old-looking washbasin, filled to the brim with water. A cloth and small bucket were perched on the edge. The giant wandered over to the table, laying the whip against it, before exiting the room, closing the door behind him. The labored breathing outside the door told Charlotte he hadn't gone far, and she shouldn't try anything.

She watched as Darlene stroked a hand down the side of Mellie's face, using the backs of her knuckles. She continued until Mellie began to slowly wake up, her beautiful blue eyes fluttering as she let out a groan.

"I know, your head probably hurts, huh?" Darlene waited as Mellie struggled to focus on her, and Charlotte knew from experience that her mom was also trying to figure out what happened.

As the room came into focus, Mellie looked around her, trying to move, but discovering she was tied up. She could see Darlene's face above her, but had no idea who she was. As she turned her head, she saw her terrified daughter, hunched over in the chair in the corner, wrists tied up and lying in her lap. The two shared a gaze, and Mellie found it within herself to give Charlotte a strong smile, before a hand on her face forced her head to move until she was facing Darlene.

"Don't worry though, because very soon, that pain in your head will feel like nothing."


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: MAJOR APOLOGY for taking ever so long to update. I just started school up again last week and it has been CRAZY! So, in apology, here is an extremely intense (at least it was extremely intense to write) chapter for ya'll. I really hope you enjoy it, and, as always, read, review, critique, and enjoy!

Darlene and the giant could be heard talking in hushed voices just outside the door, and Charlotte didn't dare move towards her mom just yet. Mellie hadn't said a word in the twenty seconds they'd been alone, and instead was twisting her hands around behind her back, trying to get them free. Charlotte watched her in silence, as Mellie's face slowly grew a little more desperate, and her wrists a little more red. She wasn't looking at her daughter, afraid that seeing Charlotte would make her fall into a puddle of dismay, but Charlotte just thought Mellie was mad.

"Mom?" Charlotte broke the silence, and Mellie's head snapped up immediately. Charlotte worried her bottom lip, scared at what seeing her amazingly strong mother tied up was doing to her. Finally, she blew out a breath and looked at the ground, completely ashamed. This was all her fault. "I'm sorry. I should never have… I didn't listen to you and now we're here, and I don't know what they're going to do, and I just need you to know that… I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. It probably doesn't help, but I really am."

Mellie just shook her head, and at first, Charlotte thought her apology wasn't going to be expected. But then she noticed the extra shine to Mellie's blue eyes, and realized her mom was trying not to cry. Mellie felt her heart almost burst as she realized. She and her child finally were at a place where maybe, just maybe, things could be okay with them, and they were stuck, tied up in a tiny room, with a lunatic outside the door. But there was no point in worrying about that now, since the stinging in her wrists proved to Mellie that she wasn't about to get out of the ties. All she could do was pray that Marcus and Olivia were as good as she thought, and could find them.

"Baby, it's ok. It's ok." Charlotte tilted her head back, knowing in her soul that it was far from okay.

"No, it's not-"

"Yes. It is. I was never there for you like I should have been. And it took me a long time to realize that. I was never the mother you deserved. But when you ran off… It felt like a piece of me was missing. A piece that I couldn't live without. And none of this is your fault. I ran after you. So let's just figure out how to get out of here. What do you know?" Charlotte watched as her mother switched gears into old Mellie, the cunning, manipulative Mellie, and Charlotte had no doubt that she was the only one who could get them out of her.

"Ok, um, there's three of them. The woman, Darlene, and Herb, and this really big man, um, George, she called him George. And the house is two stories, but it's not that far to the ground, except when I looked out the window, all I saw was field, no town, or anything safe. I don't know if we could even get out." Mellie only half-listened as Charlotte described where they were. All she had wanted to do with the question was distract her daughter as she looked around the room. She took note of the water, but her heart didn't really stop until she looked directly behind her, at the table. She tried to keep her breathing steady as her gut wrenched in upon itself, and she almost threw up. There wasn't much that scared Mellie Grant, but what was behind her… that instilled a fear darker than anything she had felt since the night Big Jerry raped her.

Mellie's head whipped back around as the lock clicked, and Charlotte abruptly stopped rambling on about the creaky stairs. Mellie took in the open-mouthed look of utter terror on Charlotte's face as she caught those hazel eyes with her own. She steeled her gaze with the prowess of a mother as she gave Charlotte her orders, knowing what was coming.

"Charlotte, don't watch." Mellie's tone left absolutely no room for argument as the door swung open, and all Charlotte could do was nod, her voice having left her.

Darlene click-clacked back into the room, this time with George following her. He silently made his way to stand directly behind Mellie, but her icy blue eyes kept level with Darlene, who stood with her hip cocked, one hand placed directly on top of it, as she slowly raised one drawn-on eyebrow.

"Well, I sure hope you two had a nice time catching up, and got in some good old mother-daughter bonding time." She let out a shrill, cold laugh. "But I guess that's pretty hard to do when you're all tied up, now. Georgey, why don't we fix that."

A slow, icy smile spread across Darlene's face as she shot a wink in the giant's direction. He bent over and roughly undid Mellie's bonds. She rubbed her wrists softly as she glared up at Darlene, who began to step just a little closer to her. All Charlotte could do was watch, breathless, as Darlene towered over Mellie, whose feet were now free. But Mellie didn't move from the chair, just sat there, back straight as a rod, unwilling to give this woman the satisfaction of seeing her scared. Charlotte was not so brave, as tears and sobs slowly became more audible. Darlene broke Mellie's gaze to toss a smirk over her shoulder, in Charlotte's direction. Then, she ran a hand through Mellie's thick hair, finally causing a visible reaction as Mellie shivered at the touch.

"What do you want?" Mellie's voice surprised even her at its strength and roughness, but she didn't break her walls for a moment as she twisted away from Darlene's touch.

In answer, Darlene tilted her head slightly, appreciative of the strength this woman was showing. She wouldn't break so easily after all. Green eyes narrowed before flicking up to George, and giving the silent signal for him to start. He grabbed Mellie none too gently under the elbow, pulling her out of the chair and towards the table. Charlotte watched in utter horror as he tied Mellie face down on the table, harshly pushing her t-shirt up her back. Creamy porcelain skin was revealed as one dirty, tan hand gripped the handle of the whip, about to raise it before a single acrylic nail tapped his shoulder. Darlene held her hand out, and George sulkily thrust the back end of the whip towards her. She grabbed it as Charlotte made eye contact with stern blue eyes, reminding her of what her mother told her to do. She black lashes squeezed together, a few tears falling out, and she listened as she heard leather whistle through the air before making contact with skin. On the next crack, Charlotte heard a small grunt come out of Mellie's mouth, but on the next one, she let out an earth-shattering scream, and Charlotte gasped in a hiccuping breath as she willed her mind to focus on anything else, but she couldn't. And in that moment, she found herself wishing she'd never been born.

The tire tracks stopped just in front of an old, worn down farmhouse, and Marcus was leaping out of the backseat before the wheels on the car even stopped rolling. The other three were quick to follow him as he dashed towards the front door, past the man, dead asleep on the front porch with an empty bottle of Fireball in hand. He turned a few times in the entryway, giving his co-workers a chance to catch up. Huck looked around the room before his eyes settled on the stairs. He simply pointed, and all four ran up the stairs, Marcus and Olivia taking the lead, only slowing when they got close to the open door at the end of the hallway. They could see Charlotte just inside the doorway, eyes closed, and gently rocking back and forth. At first, there wasn't much other sound, but then they heard an extremely high scream, and none of them doubted who had produced it. Marcus didn't hold back the panic as Huck and Quinn rushed in front, weapons ready. All four squeezed through the doorway at nearly the same time, but Darlene and George were dead before Marcus and Olivia could even register the scene.

As their bodies hit the ground, Marcus saw Mellie on the table, back exposed, and tears dripping uncontrollably from her eyes, whole body tense as she waited for the next strike. But it never came. Instead, she felt a hand softly smoothing her hair back from her forehead, and the most comforting voice in her ears as warm lips gently kissed the outer shell.

"It's okay. I'm right here. Everything's going to be okay."


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Hey ya'll! Sorry I haven't been updating as much lately, school has been crazy, but I swear I won't leave this story unresolved (and it still has a loooonnnnnggggg ways to go!) Here is the next installment, and I hope you like it! Read, review, critique, and enjoy!

The lights of the hospital room were painfully bright as Charlotte sat on a table for the second time in two weeks, letting the doctor finish checking her out, barely aware of what was even going on. Since the moment she heard Darlene's body fall to the ground as the life was sucked out of it, Charlotte had been in a dreamlike state, almost as if she was having an out of body experience while still in her own skin. Quinn stood just inside of the door, watching with a protective eye as the doctor shined a light in Charlotte's eye, before finally pulling back. She happily slapped her hands down on both thighs, shooting Charlotte a blindingly white smile, like a cheerleader whose team is losing. Quinn uncrossed her arms and stood straight as Charlotte waited for the doctor to speak.

"Well, my dear, you've had quite a day. I'm going to grab you some pills, to help you sleep, but other than that, you are perfectly fine, and all set to go." A blonde head tilted up to look carefully at Quinn, who remained silent. "Your friend here can take you home-"

"I want to see my mom." Charlotte surprised everyone, herself included, as she spoke for the first time since she had been rescued. Quinn had had to answer all of the doctor's questions.

The doctor looked nervously at determined hazel eyes. She scrutinized her patient before shaking her head slowly.

"I'm really not sure that your mother is going to be ready for-"

"She'll want to see me too, I know it. I need to see her. I need-" Charlotte's voice quavered with pent up fear. Marcus and Olivia had managed to block Mellie from Charlotte's view as Quinn pulled her outside to await the ambulance, and she was imagining far worse scenes than what she hoped was true. She just needed to see her mom, touch her, reassure herself that this was real, it was over, they were okay. "I just want my mom."

Charlotte didn't realize she had lowered her eyelids and dropped her voice to a barely audible whisper until she looked up at the doctor through a cage of lashes, eyes tearing up against her will. The doctor timidly glanced back at Quinn, who gave her a curt nod, before sighing and standing up.

"Let me find out where she is." A sweet scent from the blonde's perfume lingered in the cold room as the door swished closed. Quinn took two strides across the room, until she was standing just beside Charlotte, who brought her knees up to the table and wrapped her arms around them, letting out a few shuddery breaths. Quinn snaked out an olive hand and awkwardly patted Charlotte's shoulder, remembering that she had watched Mellie do the exact same thing, and hoped it was comforting.

"Thank you for finding us." Charlotte kept her gaze steadily on the floor, but she felt Quinn's hand pause in its motion, before continuing.

"Just doing my job." There was silence for a few seconds as Quinn watched a brunette head tilt to lay on top of shaking knees, still facing away from Quinn.

"How-" Charlotte cleared her throat of mucus when it came out raspy and garbled, then continued, her voice not much stronger than before. "How did she look? When you found her."

Quinn debated on what to say. She had no idea how fragile Charlotte might be, though she assumed the answer was pretty damn fragile. And she had already ascertained that the mother-daughter relationship between Mellie and Charlotte was extremely complicated. She almost wanted to lie, but also knew that it probably wouldn't do much good, seeing as Charlotte was determined to see Mellie as soon as possible.

"Like it might take her some time before she recovers from this." Charlotte didn't get a chance to answer, although she wasn't sure if she even could have, before the doctor was breezing back into the room, the sweet smell strengthened once more. A perfectly manicured hand swept toward the door.

"I'll show you to her."

Mellie sat on the very edge of the exam table, both hands in her lap and ankles crossed as she and Marcus waited for a doctor to come and bandage up her back. After the initial examination, the nurse had explained that none of the cuts were deep enough to need stitches, and likely wouldn't scar. Marcus had been told that he "got to her just in time," as the nurse shook her head and thought of the monsters who did this with disgust. It could have been much worse. She had left a gown for Mellie to change into, and said the doctor would be with them in a moment. She paused as Mellie eyed the tiny, thin gown, before sucking in a breath, and asking the question she dreaded every time a battered woman came into the hospital.

"Would you like a rape kit, as well?" Marcus stared hard at a spot on the floor as both he and the nurse waited tensely for Mellie's answer. His hands unconsciously rolled into tight fists on the arms of his chair. By some heavenly miracle, he watched as Mellie shook her head.

"No. They didn't… they didn't get the chance." The nurse nodded with relief before exiting the room.

Mellie found herself looking at the papery gown in her hands, before moving to take her shirt off completely. The motion stretched the skin of her back taut, and she grimaced in pain. Marcus watched her face screw up, and rose immediately, laying soft hands on Mellie's shoulders, before gingerly picking up one hand and pushing it slowly through one arm of the shirt. Mellie stood as Marcus folded the shirt up on the chair, and unbuttoned her jeans, trying to push the down without bending over, ignoring the screaming pain in her back. Again, soft hands pushed her away as he picked up first her right foot, and then her left, folding the jeans nicely and laying the on top of Mellie's shirt. They both stood there awkwardly for a moment, aware that Mellie's bra needed to come off, and she couldn't unclasp it herself. But Mellie wanted to save Marcus from having to see the damage again, and Marcus wasn't sure he could stomach the sight of his love's blood once more. After a few seconds of shuffling quiet, Marcus straightened his back, and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants.

"Turn around, babe." Mellie worried her bottom lip for a moment, before slowly turning her back to him. She felt, more than heard, his intake of breath and the quickening of his heart as he suppressed a sob. He needed to be strong, for her. Knuckles brushed across the back of her neck as he moved her hair to get to the bra clasp, and he carefully popped it open, as she allowed the straps to slide down her porcelain arms. He made quick work of putting the hospital gown on her and tying the back in a loose knot, before rotating her around by her hips, and lifting her back onto the table. Then, he put the cups of the bra inside of one another, and placed them at the bottom of the pile of clothes. He quickly moved towards her again, wanting the comforting contact in order to reassure himself that he had her, and she was safe. She didn't look up at him as she tightly wound her hands together in her lap, but he just stood next to her, stroking a hand up, down, and around her face, weaving it into her hair, as her eyes closed from emotion, and laying the other hand on top of her two smaller ones. They were silent for a few moments as they drank in the feeling, before a sharp knock on the door startled them both. The doctor slowly opened the door, his wrinkle-free face and perfectly jet black hair giving away his youth as he peeked in the room.

"All set in here?" Mellie nodded before the doctor stepped into the room, a basket of supplies in here. "Good. I'm Dr. Elliot, it's nice to meet you." He stuck a hand out first to Mellie, and then Marcus, before setting the basket down next to Mellie, and walking around behind her. He didn't touch her yet, noticing the wary shiver in her back as she lost sight of him. Her hands unclasped themselves and wrapped now around Marcus's, who kissed the top of her head. The doctor was kind enough to speak softly to Mellie, trying to reassure her.  
"Okay, I'm going to try to make this as painless as possible, would you like me to walk you through what I'm doing?" Mellie nodded warily, staring straight ahead as practiced hands swiftly untied Marcus's knot, exposing her torn back once more. He picked up a bottle of antiseptic and a large cotton pad, holding them out for his patient to see. "First, I'm going to disinfect and clean the wounds. This may sting a little, but that means it's working."

Mellie heard the liquid slosh as Dr. Elliot tipped the bottle over the cotton pad, tensing her back in preparation. She hissed as she felt the cotton pad hit her back, at first grimacing from the pain of any contact with the wounds at all, and then sucked in a gasp as the places the doctor was swiping began to feel as if they were on fire. Her back instantly straightened, trying to escape the cotton pad, but those damn hands just followed her. Marcus ran a comforting hand up and down her arm, but it didn't help as much as he thought. After what seemed like an eternity, the evil pad finally found it's home in the trash can.

"Okay, that's over. I'm sorry, I know that must have hurt. Now, I'm just going to place some gauze over the affected areas, and you'll be good to go. I'm going to recommend that you go see a doctor in about a week, to make sure everything is healing up as it should, provided nothing seems off to you beforehand." Mellie nodded silently before he bandaged up her back, and grabbed his supplies. He stopped in front of her, waiting until she met his gaze. "I hope the bastards that did this to you got what they deserved." And with that, he left.

Mellie fell sideways into Marcus, letting out the sobs she had been holding in for the last four hours. His shirt began to soak with her tears, but he let her continue, as hands tightly balled themselves up in his shirt, and he comforted her anywhere he could reach that wasn't her back. As he felt her sobs begin to soften and stop, he knelt in front of her, cupping her cheeks in his big hands as he looked into beautiful, red-rimmed blue eyes, holding all of her trust for him in them as she bared her soul. He stroked his thumbs across her round cheeks, brushing away a few stray tears, before he spoke.

"I promise you, Mellie, that I will never let anything happen to you again. And I will be with you every step of the way, and help you get past this however I can." Mellie found it within herself to smile softly at him, all her love passing from her lips to his as she bent her head forward slightly to make contact.

"The thing that scared me most," She whispered against his lips, "was that they would hurt my child. And right after that, I was terrified I'd never get to see you again, to feel you again." He pressed his lips forward to meet hers once more.

"You will never have to worry about that. You're stuck with me." The small laugh she let out at that was the most magical sound in the world, and he opened his eyes to stare directly into hers, connecting in a way deeper than either of them had ever thought possible with one look. "Now," he stood up, and she whined a little as his hands slipped from hers. "Let's get you dressed and find Charlotte, so we can go home."

Mellie nodded. Her daughter had been at the back of her mind the entire time, but she also knew that Liv had told Quinn not to leave Charlotte's side, so she wasn't at all worried for her baby's safety. But now that Marcus had mentioned her, all Mellie wanted to do was hold her and comfort her, reassure her. Because, knowing her daughter, she would be traumatized. This would have traumatized any child, but Charlotte more than anyone, after all she had been through recently.

Marcus retraced his earlier actions, backward this time, as he assisted Mellie in getting dressed, thankful that the white gauze hid her injuries from his sight. As Mellie was pushing the button of her jeans through the hole, there was another knock on the door, this one much softer than Dr. Elliot's before a blonde head poked around the doorframe.

"Ms. Grant?" The blonde questioned. Mellie just nodded, and watched as the head turned, saying over its shoulder, "She's in here." Two seconds later, the blonde head was replaced with Charlotte's curvy figure as she pushed the door opened wider, rushing into the room and stopping just before she grabbed her mother in a hug, noting the careful way Mellie was holding herself, and being afraid of hurting her. But Mellie didn't care, ignore the pain as she stepped forward to hold her daughter, stroking her curls and pressing her lips to the top of Charlotte's head.

"Hey, baby."

"Mama, I'm so sorry." Charlotte got out before the sobs overtook her. Mellie bit her lip to hold back her own tears from flowing.

"It's okay, sweetie. I'm okay. We're okay. It's over." Charlotte nodded her head into Mellie's chest, completely spent and unable to voice what she felt anymore, before Mellie pulled back. "Let's just go home, go to sleep, alright?"


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Hi ya'll! Sorry for the sporadic updating, life has been crazy with a capital C lately! So, this chapter is a little shorter than most of the others, but I want to still update regularly, even if that means shorter chapters. Since it's shorter, I tried to add in some more sweet moment for ya'll! As always, please read/critique/review/what have you! And thank you all so very, very much for following this lil story here!

Mellie walked slowly down the stairs after she had put Charlotte to sleep. It almost felt like Charlotte was five again; Mellie had only felt it safe to leave once those hazel eyes had completely closed, and her slim chest was rising up and down slowly and evenly. Even then, Mellie had taken a moment to herself, watching her child sleep, seemingly perfectly peaceful. She was having a hard time believing they were okay, that it was all over, and that Herb wouldn't be bothering with either of them anytime soon, especially since Mellie had no idea if Olivia's two freaks had killed him too. Either way, she really couldn't find it within herself to care. The damage he had caused, physically and emotionally, to her and her daughter left Mellie without an ounce of empathy for the man.

The entire ride home, Charlotte hadn't spoken a word, despite Mellie's attempts to engage her in casual conversation. Mellie wasn't sure if Charlotte's silence was her processing, or her remembering how much she hated Mellie. Mellie caught herself wondering where their relationship stood now, but mentally kicked herself immediately. This wasn't the time for that. Right now, all of them had to process the last few days, in whatever way they could.

Marcus cleared his throat, startling Mellie out of her deep thoughts. He had patiently waited for her on the couch, unsure if he was supposed to stay the night, or go home. But the moment she saw him, he got his answer.

Mellie strode quickly to the couch, eyes watery, and curled up next to his well-muscled form. He was careful to avoid her back, as he embraced her with his loving arms, stroking a hand through the baby hairs gracing her forehead. For a few precious moments, they sat there, engulfed in the presence of one another.

"How is she?" Marcus's question was quiet, his lips brushing Mellie's forehead as he spoke. She pushed her head just a little deeper into the crook of his neck before answering.

"I don't know. She won't talk." Silence ensued for another few moments, before Mellie finished her thought. "She still hates me."

"No, Mels," Marcus unwrapped himself from around his girlfriend, clasping her hands within his own, and looking her in those watery baby blues. "She does not hate you. She wouldn't have come to find you at the hospital if she hated you. She's just traumatized. Think about it. For the last few months she's walked around not knowing who she is, and getting abused for doing nothing, then she finds her father, and he turns out to be some freak who kidnaps both her and her mother. And, Mellie…" Marcus had to look away from her as he finished his sentence, because the words brought up a picture too horrible to remember with her perfect eyes staring into his soul. All he could see was Marlene, hand high in the air as she readied herself to bring the whip down on a tied up Mellie. But Marcus finished his thought anyways. "She watched someone torture you. So I don't think she hates you. I think she's been through a hell of alot, more than most people go through in a lifetime."

"But I'm her mother. She should talk to me about this." Mellie's forehead crinkled, trying to understand. She was one of the most emotional, deeply feeling people Marcus knew, but every once in awhile, she had such a hard time understanding the feelings of others that Marcus wondered if she was the descendant of a robot.

"Mellie, honey, I don't want you to take what I say the wrong way, because I love you, that's why I'm saying it. But think about it for me. For the last two years, you haven't exactly been the mom she talks to about, well, anything. So she's not talking to you now because she's used to not talking at all."

Marcus readied himself for Mellie's rage, but, surprisingly, it did not come. Instead, she looked up at him with trust and love in her eyes, and he saw the understanding flash across her face, followed by the well of tears in her eyes. He took a thumb and swiped one away as it began to fall, and she nodded.

"You're right." Marcus smiled softly at her, and she leaned her forehead into his lips for a kiss, then stood up. "Let's go to bed."

Mellie took his hand in hers as she led him up the stairs, both stopping to peek in on Charlotte for a moment. Mellie was only calmed when she saw, once more, the steady rise and fall of her child's chest, even with sleep. They continued down the hallway, Marcus pushing open the door to her bedroom for Mellie, both separating to put on their pajamas. Mellie heard the rustling of clothing as Marcus undressed, slipping on a t-shirt that miraculously matched his boxers. She, though, just stood staring at the red silk in her hand, the burning in her back making a reappearance. Mellie was only standing there for a few moments before she felt soft hands slip just under the hem of her shirt, to rest on the curve of her hips. Marcus leaned his forehead against the side of her head, lips just brushing the outer shell of her ear.

"Here, I'll do it." Mellie nodded her head slowly, and Marcus instinctively knew that not being able to do this was twisting Mellie's stomach apart. So, he tried to ease the tension. "After all, undressing you is one of my favorite tasks." At that, she let out a surprised laugh, and turned to face him, handing over the pajama set.

"I knew there was a hidden motive for you." She shot back gently, the hint of a smile in her cheeks. He was careful as he lifted off her shirt, forcing his eyes away from her breasts. This was not the time for that. Fortunately, her pajama shirt buttoned in the front, so Mellie's thin fingers set about doing the buttons as Marcus slipped off her bootcut jeans, and pulled the more comfortable bottoms up to her hips. She went to lay in the center of the bed, snugging under the thick comforter, as he laid their clothes in the hamper before joining her. They resumed the position they had had on the couch, needing to feel each other's presence all around them. Mellie laid her head on his chest, finding comfort as she listened to his heartbeat, her head bobbing up and down with his breaths. He was almost asleep, ignorant of the thoughts still running around Mellie's head, when she spoke so quietly he almost didn't hear her.

"I think we should go see a therapist." She didn't look up to meet his eyes, but felt his head come forward as he stared at the top of her head, forehead crinkled in confusion.

"Why? Do we have problems?" Marcus was genuinely confused. He had been under the impression that the two of them had solved their problems. But relief struck as Mellie shook her head.

"No, not you and I. Charlotte and me. I think the two of us should see a therapist. We can do some together and some apart, but I think we need to bring someone else in on this, someone who knows what they're doing." Her hand came out from under the covers to rest flat on his chest, her index fingers making small circles as she spoke.

"Do you think she'll agree?" Marcus hadn't known Charlotte very long, but he had gotten the impression that this was something she'd be very skeptical about.

"I doubt it. But I'm her mother, and she still has to do what I say. That, at least, has not changed."

The next morning, Charlotte was standing in front of the mirror doing her makeup. The bruises Evan had left on her face had completely faded, and she felt a little bit strange not having to cake on a bunch of concealer. But it was a good strange, she reminded herself. There were bags under her eyes that gave her a slight walking dead look, but she tried to ignore them. She hadn't slept too well last night. At first, her sleep had been dreamless, but somewhere around midnight, she had woken up in a cold sweat, shaking. And when she tried to go back to sleep, she was consistently plagued with nightmares. She kept hearing Mellie's bloodcurdling scream, and the whistle of the whip, and then Marlene's chilly voice.

A knock on the door startled Charlotte, but she quickly remembered that it wasn't Evan. Mellie didn't wait for an answer before she turned the knob slowly, and pushed on the door. She looked just as haggard as her daughter. It seemed the previous night had been a sleepless one for all.

"Good morning!" Mellie forced her tone to be light, putting a smile on her face, as she surveyed her daughter.

"Morning." Charlotte as much more subdued as she unscrewed her mascara. Mellie tried not to let Charlotte's ignoring her dishearten her mood. Instead, she crossed the few steps to stand beside Charlotte, watching as her daughter leaned towards the mirror, opening her eyes wide as she swiped the mascara wand along her lashes. Mellie brought a careful hand to Charlotte's tangled hair, before picking up her hairbrush, and starting at the ends, just as she had taught Charlotte to do fifteen years ago. Their eyes met in the mirror as Mellie ran the brush up the length of an inch of Charlotte's thick hair, and Charlotte gave her mother a small smile, before continuing with her lipstick.

"So I've been thinking…" Mellie began, trying not to snag the tangles in Charlotte's hair.

"Uh-oh." Charlotte said, the hint of a laugh gracing her voice.

"It's nothing bad," Mellie reassured her, as the brush hit a snag. "Sorry."

"It's ok. You've been thinking?" Charlotte prompted, as she reached for a tissue to blot her lips.

"I think we should, uh," Mellie paused as she concentrated on the curls in her hand, before Charlotte cleared her throat, urging her mother to finish. "I was wondering if you'd be open to… I want us to see a therapist." Mellie finally looked back up into the mirror, meeting Charlotte's unreadable eyes.

"A therapist." Charlotte repeated slowly. Mellie put the brush back down on the counter, but she kept her hands in her daughter's hair, mindlessly toying with it.

"Yes." Hazel eyes remained steady and cloudless, before glancing back down at the makeup scattered before her. She began to absentmindedly pick things up, replacing them in the drawer.

"Like, one of those people where you lay on their couch and they ask you about your dreams and tell you what you need to fix, and then you go fix it and everything's great?"

"Well, not exactly. I was thinking more along the lines of someone who we can go talk to, an outside perspective who's had schooling on situations like… this. Someone who can maybe help us figure out how to move on. From all of it."

"You mean from you lying to me?" Mellie looked away from the mirror at the same moment that Charlotte looked back up, their eyes meeting for a split second, and Charlotte saw a flash of hurt in Mellie's baby blue. She quickly reached a hand behind her to grasp one of her mother's. "Do you really want to?"

Mellie looked back up to her daughter's face, before turning her around, and setting both hands on Charlotte's shoulders.

"It's not about what I want. I think it's scary as hell. But I also think that we aren't going to get through this, all of this, the whole last two years, without help." Charlotte's eyes narrowed slightly, not angrily, but more as if she was thinking, analyzing. She did not want to do this. Everything inside her screamed "STOP." She was not someone who enjoyed sharing her feelings with the people she loved, much less a stranger. But she also knew that if Mellie was there, and there was enough prompting from the therapist, she would say things that broke Mellie's heart further than she already had. And yet, Charlotte's guilt over the last week forced her to say yes. Mellie wanted this, and she desperately wanted to make it up to her mother, to apologize for what she had gotten them into.

"Ok. We can do it."


	27. Chapter 27

SOOOO sorry for the late update :/ College sucks, and I literally have no other excuse. So as an apology, here's a little bit of a longer chapter, with some daddy-daughter fluff. And, of course, a little bit of angst :) We'll just have to wait until next chapter to see how the appointment goes!

Charlotte stepped out of the black car in front of the White House, straightening her skirt as she walked around towards the back entrance, hoping no one would see her. Fitz hadn't called her at all since she had been home. At first, she was pissed, and was close to just ignoring him for the rest of her life. She'd been kidnapped, for God's sakes. But then Mellie explained that he actually didn't know what had happened, since apparently no one had thought to update him. So, of course, Mellie took that moment to decide to ask Olivia to give Fitz a call. Mellie sure as hell didn't want to do it. And not twenty minutes later, Charlotte's phone rang, and she picked it up to hear the sound of her father's frantic voice, insisting that he was sending a car for her at that moment. And so here she stood, in front of the place she once called home, and now associated with so many bad memories.

As she made her way towards the Oval, not a single person glanced her way. No one knew, she realized. A Senator gets kidnapped and no one knows? Then again, her parents had an affection for covering up big family events, like maybe an illegitimate child.

The door to Fitz's office was closed, but Charlotte went ahead and just pushed it open, stepping inside and quickly shutting the door as her father looked up at her with a red face, creased with distress. He was up from behind his desk and in front of her before she could blink, and his arms wrapped her up in one of those bear hugs only a dad could give. She let out a tearless sob as she felt his presence and his love, realizing that this was what a father was. Herb was not a father. He didn't make her feel so safe and loved. Fitz did that, and as much as what he had done had hurt her, he was her dad, and he always would be.

"Daddy I'm sorry," She managed to get out, but he just increased the pressure before finally letting her go. As he pulled back, Charlotte saw the glimmer of tears, and was startled for a moment. She'd never seen her dad cry.

"Never do that again." His voice was stern, and Charlotte almost mistook the fear for anger. Almost.

"They're dead, Dad. Olivia's people, they… they're dead." Fitz nodded once before taking a seat at the couch. He put his head in his hands, pushing his fingers through his thick hair, before looking back up at his daughter. It was almost as if he was seeing her for the first time ever. And in a way, he was. As Fitz looked at his not-so-little girl, he saw that the spunky, loud kid was replaced by a fiery, strong woman, who was coming into her own. A woman who had so much pain and hurt for someone so young, but carried it well. A woman who, despite things she had said in the past, was still his daughter. And he felt the fear melt away just a little bit. She was here, right in front of him, and the danger was behind them. He let out a long, noisy breath, before speaking.

"Did they hurt you?" Charlotte knew, from the expression in his eyes, that her dad was asking her the same roundabout question he had asked Karen after Jerry's death. But she didn't explode, just shook her head gently, before joining him on the couch.

"No, I don't think they were interested in… that. I'm actually not sure I know what they wanted at all." Fitz felt relief flood his chest, and he reached a hand out to grasp Charlotte's smaller, delicate ones.

"And your mom?" Charlotte hesitated, squeezing her eyes shut to compose herself. But her voice still came out quiet and cracking.

"Not like that." Fitz caught his daughter's careful answer, but one look at her face told him he didn't want to know what they actually did do. Despite everything he and Mellie had been through, he still loved her deeply, and knowing that those people had hurt her in any way brought out his protective side. If Olivia's people hadn't killed them, he wasn't sure what he would want to do, what he probably would do.

Charlotte leaned her head into her dad's shoulder, hoping he wouldn't ask her any more questions. If she was being completely honest, the events were still too fresh, too painful, for her to really be able to talk about them. Yesterday morning seemed like a lifetime ago, but somehow, it also seemed like one minute ago. Fortunately, Fitz was well versed in reading atmospheres, and remained quiet on the subject. Instead, he enjoyed the presence of his child, squeezing her shoulder every so often, reminding himself that she was here.

"Is Evan going to jail?" The question surprised Fitz. He wasn't expecting Charlotte to be ready to talk about that just yet. He still blamed himself, for putting that man on his daughter's detail. But at least, he could give her this.

"Yes. For a very long time. David is going to argue that he committed aggravated assault, murder, and that he broke the law by having an intimate relationship with you." Charlotte sat up, the knot that had been twisting in her stomach for the last year and a half finally untying.

"Good." Neither one of them said anything for another minute, but Charlotte couldn't wrap her mind around something her dad had said. "Why murder?"

Fitz gave her a look, not understanding how that confused her, but not wanting to answer the question all the same. Thinking about it was still too hard. But when he saw her looking at him expectantly, he relented.

"The, uh, the baby, sweetheart. He endangered the baby, when he stabbed you. And then when you mis- when you lost the baby, that was directly due to his actions. That's murder." Charlotte nodded slowly, halfway understanding. As she remembered the feeling she had when the doctor told her she was pregnant, and then the pain, and-

Charlotte stood, and Fitz followed her. He was surprised she was leaving so soon, and was worried he had said something wrong.

"You don't have to leave." He stood, not touching her, but she wouldn't meet his eyes.

"No, it's okay, you have work to do-"

"Work can wait." Charlotte looked up at him then, seeing nothing but insistence in those familiar blue eyes.

"I have to go unpack, anyways. I never got a chance to." Fitz saw… something in her eyes, something tremulously teetering on the verge of breaking free, and knew he wasn't going to be able to get her to stay, right now.

"You'll come back soon?" Charlotte nodded, before wrapping her arms around his torso.

"I love you, Daddy." She whispered into his chest.

"I love you too, baby."

Two days later, Charlotte sat on the edge of her stately bed, dressed in a grey sweater and a pair of jeans, twisting and untwisting her hands from the sleeves of the sweater. She stared around the room, at all of her things that now sat on the desk and adorned the walls and hung in the closet, feeling a sense of uneasiness in the air of the house. The uneasiness had been hanging there for the last day and a half, since Mellie had scheduled their first "counseling" appointment (apparently it was frowned upon to call it a fucked-up relationship fixer). She and Mellie had spent the last few days almost wholly separate from each other, as Charlotte unpacked all of her belongings, and Mellie slept. The doctor had told Marcus that that behavior was expected for someone in Mellie's position. Almost all of the contact between mother and daughter was Mellie's queries about Charlotte's meal habits, and her earnest affirmations. Yet, here they both were, ready to waltz into some stranger's office and spill their guts, saying things they'd never dared to say out loud. But Charlotte was trying to convince herself she was fine with it. This was what her mom wanted, and Charlotte owed her that much.

Mellie walked up to the open door of her daughter's room- she couldn't get over how happy it made her to say that- and stopped before making her presence known, watching Charlotte for just a moment. Anyone could tell that she was nervous. Mellie was nervous too, and six months ago, Mellie wouldn't have done this because it made her so unnecessarily nervous. But this wasn't six months ago, and Mellie wasn't how she used to be. But no matter how much she wanted this, she didn't want to force Charlotte into anything.

"We don't have to go, you know." Charlotte started a little at Mellie's words, turning her head as Mellie took a few careful steps into the room. Charlotte hesitated before speaking, watching as Mellie came close to, but purposefully didn't sit on, the bed.

"I know."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel forced-"

"Mom, it's fine." Charlotte threw a hand up to stop Mellie. She wasn't trying to be rude, but she knew that if Mellie kept talking, Charlotte was very likely to take her up on her offer, and just curl up with a good book instead.

"Oh, ok." Mellie gave a curt nod, just a little hurt by Charlotte's attitude. She was only trying to help. "Well then, we'd better get going. Are you ready?"

"Yea." Charlotte bent down to get her purse, brushing past Mellie and out the door. Mellie stood in the room for a second longer than needed, sending out a little prayer that she was making the right decision, and that she wasn't about to send an unstable relationship up in flames.

The ride over was silent, save for the occasional sigh. A pretty young receptionist greeted them when they walked in, assuring they'd be called in shortly, and also assuring the office's utmost discreteness, while glancing wearily at the large Secret Service men standing on either side of the door. The two barely had time to take a seat in the waiting room before they were ushered into the office. Admittedly, it was a gorgeous space, with a big picture window opposite the door, and an array of fluffy chairs. The therapist stood as Mellie walked in, followed by Charlotte, both instantly becoming tenser as the situation became more real.

"Hi, I'm Andrea." The sandy blonde reached her hand out to Mellie first, then Charlotte. Both women eyed the doctor, dressed in a professional pantsuit not far of from what Mellie could imagine Olivia wearing, with her hair hanging straight and limp, and a pair of thick black frames taking up most of her face. "Please, have a seat." She motioned to the chairs, before sitting down in a hard-looking wooden one opposite all the others. Charlotte chose the chair closest to the window, instantly curling in on herself and facing away from the other two. Andrea took note of Charlotte's body language, but didn't say anything. Mellie caught her daughter as well, and sat with one chair in between her and Charlotte, back straight as a rod, and legs crossed, keeping the gash across her back well away from the the chair. Andrea let the two get as comfortable as she figured they were going to, before clearing her throat.

"Before we start I'd like to set some ground rules, if that's okay with you?" Andrea waited, testing them, before both nodded their assent. "Good. Firstly, I don't want anyone here to feel pressured to share, but I would like to remind you both that the point of therapy is to work on problem areas in your relationship, and the only way to do that is to talk. Second, this is a judgment free zone. I will not judge either of you, no matter what you say, and I expect both of you to do the same for one another. Thirdly, no interruptions. You'll each have a chance to thoroughly voice your thoughts, but don't take away from what the other is saying by cutting them off. And finally, this one is not so much of a rule as a suggestion, but what happens in this room that is negative, stays here. Try not to go home and, if your feelings were hurt by something the other said, bring that back into the house. That just makes the whole process more difficult. Are we good?" Andrea ended with a smile, making eye contact with each as she expected them to answer. Charlotte simply nodded. Mellie looked over at her daughter, and then at Andrea.

"We're good." She attempted a half smile, willing her heart to still and her palms to stop sweating.

"Okay then. Why don't we start with the basics? Mellie, I understand you asked for this. Why don't you tell me why?"


	28. Chapter 28

HI GUYS! So, maaaaajjjjoooorrrr apology for the seriously long wait. College and my job have decided that I'm not allowed to have time to do even basic things, like sleep and eat. BUT I have a new chapter for you, with some nice tension between Mellie and dear old Charlotte. Also, did you see the newest season 6 promo? I SAW SOME MARCUS AND MELLIE TIME FOR REAL! (That's very exciting to me!) Anyways, read, review, critique, and ENJOY!

Andrea's last word lingered in the air as Mellie analyzed the question in her head. To be completely honest, she was having trouble finding a reason. All she knew, when she had asked for this, was that she wanted to fix everything. But, she supposed, that was too much to ask of a few therapy appointments. She stared hard at a spot on the floor, not realizing how long she had been thinking over her answer until Andrea prompted her.

"Mellie? Why did you ask for these sessions?" Andrea's voice was soothing, not angry or harsh, more inquisitive and empathetic. She looked at Mellie, head tilted and pen poised over the paper, waiting. Mellie looked up at her daughter, who was now staring at her intently, a mix of curiosity and anxiety coloring her face.

"I asked because… Because I did something I shouldn't have. A lot of things, actually, and they hurt the person I love more than anything in the world. I hurt my daughter, and for the last month, all I've wanted was to repair some of what I damaged. But it wasn't working. You're- she's so hard to get through to, most of the time. It's like we'll have one moment that's amazing and good, and then it's gone, and there's a tension in the air, a pain, I- I don't want to have that anymore. So I thought, maybe, someone else could help. I've done so many things I regret in my life, I just didn't want this to be another. Because it would probably kill me." Mellie felt her voice catch in her throat, but forced her last words out, before glancing down at her hands to compose herself. She wasn't expecting to get emotional so early on. She looked up to see Andrea writing furiously on the paper, lips pursed and head tilted. As Andrea looked up, she caught Mellie's anxious stare, and gave the woman a small smile, hoping she was being comforting. Andrea could already tell that Mellie was a complicated woman, and this would be difficult. But she always did like a challenge.

"Thank you, Mellie. Now, Charlotte," Charlotte tore herself away from watching her mother, who was purposefully not looking at her, to settle slightly unfocused eyes on the other woman. "I understand that your mother asked for these sessions, but you agreed. May I ask why?"

"Why did I agree?" Charlotte absentmindedly repeated the question, toying with the end of her hair and stalling for time. She had a feeling her reasoning might make Mellie feel very guilty, and she also had no interest in talking about the kidnapping. But, again, Andrea was sitting patiently and awaiting an answer. So Charlotte took a deep breath, looked straight into the sandy blonde's chocolate brown eyes, and rushed her words out. "I guess I just felt so guilty about what happened to my mom because it was all my fault and she got hurt and I just wanted to make up for it and this seemed really important to her and I mean I still get so mad at her sometimes and I feel like she's just so awful but she didn't deserve what happened to her and since it was my fault I felt like I owed her something, I don't know." Charlotte looked down at the right leg of Andrea's chair, noticing how it was slightly rounded, throwing the entire chair off balance, trying to ignore her mother's gasp, and almost silent, "Oh, Charlotte." That was what she had been afraid of. But Andrea simply nodded.

"And what was it that happened to your mom?" Mellie watched the pain cross Charlotte's face, creating deep creases, and forced herself not to give Andrea a death glare and make her move on. This was the process.

"We were kidnapped and she was tortured." The words were barely more than a whisper, and Charlotte curled on herself even more. This was the first time she had said it out loud.

"I see." Andrea jotted a few things on her paper, remaining placid. This was new information, and clearly yet another topic to delve into. She took a moment to take stock of what she had so far, attempting to discern the best place to start. She decided that maybe, today at least, the kidnapping wouldn't be the best place. "Charlotte, would you like to talk about when you found out the truth about your biology?"

Charlotte wiped a stray tear with the sleeve of her sweater, and nodded hesitantly. "As in, when I found out two years ago? Or when I confronted my parents?"

"Why don't we start with two years ago?" Mellie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She knew it had happened, of course, but Charlotte had never actually described it. Mellie braced herself to feel like a maternal failure, yet again.

Charlotte took a deep breath in throughout her whole body, biting her lip and placing her thoughts into a somewhat utterable order. For the last month, she had managed to push that moment almost completely out of her mind. Sure, it had been lingering, but what was causing her pain and tension was the present, not the moment when it all began. That was the moment she felt her world was ending, and she didn't want to walk through those fires again. But the room was eerily silent, and she knew she had to say something. So, never one to give in, and not wanting to seem weak by opting not to share, Charlotte started.

"Ok, well I was in a Biology I class, really easy stuff, mostly what I had learned in high school. And we got to this section on genes, I remember reading the part about how inherited genes work, over and over, because I didn't get it. And then I tried to remember if I had looked at that stuff in high school. I just really wanted to believe that the textbook was wrong, or I was misunderstanding, or there was some other explanation. So the next day in class, I asked the professor. I tried to make it seem casual, like I was clarifying, but when a couple people shot me looks, like, 'What, are you stupid?' I knew I wasn't misunderstanding. I raised my hand, in the middle of a two hundred person lecture hall, and said to the professor, 'If two parents both had blue eyes, can they have a biological child together with brown eyes?' And this tiny old man, with just a couple wisps of white hair, goes, 'Young lady, genes don't work that way. The parents would have a child with blue eyes, nothing else.' For a second, it was like everything just froze around me, and then I walked out of the lecture hall. Just up and left, and went… I don't know where. I don't remember. Everything was blurry, as if I was drunk and anesthetized at the same time. And I cried for days. Didn't go to class. My roommates thought someone died." Charlotte paused, remembering when Stacy had asked her that very question, with a hand on her hip and that red head tilted slightly. "I guess, in a way, I felt like my family died. The family I thought was mine, anyways."

Charlotte forced herself to look at Mellie, and the empathy in her eyes was enough to make Charlotte's chest constrict upon itself. She realized she had been holding her breath, and sucked in a lungful of air as she turned to look out the window. Suddenly, sitting in that chair was making her entire body feel like it was on fire, and she was having trouble breathing. She stood up and walked over to the bank of windows, hand unconsciously reaching out to lay flat against the glass. She stared down two floors to the street below, watching a mother and her young daughter holding hands and swinging their arms as they walked. And Charlotte had a moment, all to herself, where she realized that she and Mellie would never have that again. She was broken, Mellie had broken their relationship, and Mellie was broken too. And that was too much break to fix, even with these stupid therapy appointments. For a moment, the street shook before her, and she was slightly light headed. She tried to pull in a breath, but her lungs felt like they were burning up and exploding from the inside out. Charlotte leaned against the glass for support, and could barely hear her mom calling her. She focused hard on the floor, working to expand her lungs, and it finally worked. The oxygen flooded her chest, and her brain started functioning again. She looked up to see both Mellie and Andrea looking at her with concern.

"I don't… This isn't going to work. It's just- it's too much." She gave Mellie an apologetic look, and watched her face fall. Just when Mellie had hope that something would work, Charlotte ripped it from her.

Andrea watched the display with a trained eye, working out the best way to diffuse the tension. She stood up, and put a comforting hand on Charlotte's shoulder, a little surprised when her hand wasn't pushed away.

"I'll tell you what, Charlotte." Andrea's tone sounded like she was talking to a child, and if Charlotte wasn't still working so hard on breathing, she would have been offended. "I think this might be enough for today. But I don't want you to give up hope. How about we do two more sessions, and if you still feel as if it's not working, you can stop?"

Charlotte's hazel eyes searched Andrea's, looking for the catch or the caveat, but Andrea simply smiled warmly until Charlotte finally nodded.

"Good. Then," Andrea stepped back and made eye contact with both Mellie and Charlotte. "I'm going to give you two some homework. I want you to spend some time together over the next few days, but," she paused and held up a warning finger. "I don't want the two of you to talk about anything that is putting a strain on your relationship. Keep it light, and have some normal mother-daughter time. Do you think you can do that?" Mellie caught Charlotte's eye, waiting for her silent agreement, before nodding. Andrea clapped her hands rather childishly. "Goodd. Then I will see you in two days."


	29. Chapter 29

Charlotte strode through the front door and straight into the kitchen. It was only a few seconds before Mellie heard the freezer door open and close, and then the clank of silverware against dishware. Ice cream. Cookie dough had always been Charlotte's comfort food. When she was sick as a little kid, she would beg Mellie to get her some.

Marcus came down the stairs, looking cautiously around, before catching Mellie standing just inside the entryway. He came straight toward her, wrapping her in his arms, careful to avoid her back, and kissing her lips lightly. She smiled softly, but he could tell something was off.

"How'd it go?" He looked at her quizzically, trying to read the things she left unsaid in her eyes.

"As good as can be expected, I guess." She went silent, and he poked her softly in the side. Her blue eyes looked up at him apologetically, and she bit her lip. "I know I've been kicking you out of the house a lot lately, but do you mind staying at your apartment tonight? The therapist suggested we spend some time together." Mellie looked so worried and guilty as she made her request, that Marcus needed to let her know it was fine. He understood. His lips met the top of her head gently, and her eyes closed instinctively, feeling his love in the small gesture.

"Of course, baby." He took his arms back, and she sighed discontentedly at the loss of contact. One of his hands trailed down her arm to grasp one of hers, as he stepped around her towards the door. "Just relax. I'm sure it'll be fine."

She gave him a half-hopeful, half-sarcastic smile in response. Tonight would be many things, but she doubted it would be _fine._ He patted her shoulder, closing the door gently on his way out. Mellie straightened her shoulders, and let out a puff of breath, before following the sound of spoon-meeting-bowl to the kitchen. She found Charlotte sitting on the counter, swinging her legs and moving her shoulders to the beat of the music she was playing off of her phone. But before Mellie could say a word, the doorbell rang. And then it rang again. And again.

Mellie let out an indignant and annoyed sigh before ripping the door open, very ready to let the rude visitor have it. But she had barely opened her mouth to let loose a string of swear words when head full of thick black hair bobbed past her and into the entryway at an inhuman speed.

"Olivia…" It was half sigh, half growl, but Olivia Pope did not give a second thought the the annoyance in Mellie's voice.

"Where have you been?"

"What?"

"Where. Have. You. Been?" Olivia swung around to face Mellie, inches shorter but just as powerful, standing there in high heels and a sharp grey pantsuit, manicured nails gripping her hips tightly. "One week, Mellie. You took an entire week. I get it, you want to spend time with your daughter. I said that would be fine. But I was thinking two, maybe three days, tops. Not an entire week! The press is wondering where you've been, why you've just disappeared on them." Olivia was gesticulating wildly, but in that moment, Mellie really couldn't bring herself to care what the press thought. "The headlines, Mellie: Mellie Grant- Disappears During the Campaign, Will She Disappear as President? You're dropping in the polls. You were ahead, you had this in the bag, after everything with Charlotte, and now you're dropping. We're going to lose if you don't get out there and do something, show the people that you haven't disappeared, that you are just as strong as-"

"We were kidnapped, Olivia!" Mellie roared, lunging forward to get right up in her campaign manager's face, whisper-talking now, voice low and dangerous. "Kidnapped and tortured, and after all that, our relationship has gone nowhere. I am- I am losing my daughter."

"You're going to lose more than that if you keep this up."

"Oh, screw the campaign. The Presidency is not worth the price of my child." There was a pause. One of those pauses that seems to go on forever, where the air is so charged with emotion it seems like no one could speak, even if they wanted to.

"The Presidency will bring you back your child. What do you think it will mean to Charlotte, to see her mother in the most powerful position in the world. To watch her mom become the first female President in history. What kind of example do you want to set for your daughter? Do you want to show her that when something bad happens, and it was bad, I'm not denying you that, but when something bad happens, you just curl up and give in? Let the bad people win and stop fighting? Or do you want to show her that you take the bad, you take the ugly, you take the horror, and you let it fuel you. You let it push to do great things, be a great person, change the world. What do you want to show her, Mellie?"

Mellie stepped back, creating a gap between herself and those words. She could feel her heart pulsating in her chest, heavy and hurt, but powerful. So, so powerful. Just like she was.

"Get me a press conference for tomorrow, Liv. We're still in this thing."

A slow smile spread across Olivia's face. She out a hand on Mellie's shoulder, feeling a sudden urge to hug her ex-enemy, but she resisted.

"Done." She turned to leave, her fixing work done for today, but realized she needed to say one last thing. Without turning around, she spoke over her shoulder. "I know it was hard. I can't imagine… parts of it, but I know. I'm sorry. I wish… I wish it hadn't happened to you. But I'm glad you're okay."

"Because it means your campaign's not ruined."

"No. Because you're my friend."

There was no need for teary hugs or admissions of love, Mellie simply let out a surprised little puff of air, and Olivia nodded. Their eyes never met, but they felt all they needed to.

As the door closed, Mellie took a moment. She was back in this race, and she was determined to win. That Presidency was hers, and she would fight tooth and nail to get it. But right now, she had to fight tooth and nail for someone else. She walked carefully back to the kitchen, finding Charlotte in the exact same position, still eating ice cream and listening to music. She looked up this time as Mellie came in, heading straight for the freezer.

"Who was that?" Charlotte lifted her chin in the direction of the door.

"Olivia Pope. We have a press conference- where did you put the ice cream?"

"Top shelf, on the left."

"Oh." Mellie pulled her head out of the cold, mostly empty carton of ice cream in her hand. "We have a press conference tomorrow, sort of an 'I'm back, please still vote for me' type of thing. She was mad that I disappeared for as long as I did."

"Got it. What exactly are you gonna say at this press conference? I mean, are you planning to talk about the, uh..." Charlotte tried to make clear what she meant without actually saying it. Doctor's orders, after all. But Mellie quickly shook her head as she pulled a spoon from the center drawer in the island.

"No. I don't know what I'll say yet." She popped the lid on the ice cream to find about a quarter of a serving left. She glared up at her daughter, casually enjoying the very last of her very large bowl. "We need more." She pointed at the ice cream with her spoon. "Since _somebody_ ate it all."

"Hey, I was hungry." Charlotte threw her hands up, dishware and all, trying to portray total innocence. Mellie laughed.

"Ice cream isn't really what you should be eating if you're hungry."

Charlotte nodded defeatedly, and Mellie's eyes widened that her daughter, who had the biggest sweet tooth, was agreeing with her on this.

"You're right, Mom." Charlotte paused, always having had a flair for the dramatic. "Strawberry ice cream is the better choice, since it's got fruit and all." Mellie let out a jingly laugh that echoed around the kitchen, eyeing Charlotte's skinny waistline.

"You keep eating the way you do, and you won't be as skinny as you are for much longer. Trust me on that one." But Charlotte just shrugged.

"Then I'll change my eating habits when that happens. Until then, I'm planning on enjoying my food." She popped the last bite of ice cream into her mouth, letting the spoon slide out slowly, and making over exaggerated sounds of enjoyment. After a moment, neither woman could hold it together, and both burst out in laughter.

This was nice, Mellie caught herself thinking. Laughing in the kitchen with her daughter, this was how it was supposed to be. How it always should have been with them. How it always would be from now on, God willing.

"So, what do you want to do tonight?" Mellie threw away the now empty container, rinsing her spoon and putting it in the dishwasher, before taking Charlotte's spoon and bowl as well.

"I don't know. What do normal moms do with their daughters?"

Mellie thought hard about it, trying to remember all the interactions she'd seen between other mothers and their daughters over the years, interactions that used to make her so jealous. The thing was, she really couldn't remember ever seeing what they were doing together. She did remember watching _Gilmore Girls_ , and thinking how cool Lorelai was, wishing she could be that way with Charlotte.

"I have an idea. Why don't we get some food, find a movie, and get some nail polish. We can eat and then give each other manicures."

Charlotte gave her mom a long look. The idea sounded great to her. In fact, it sounded just like scenes she used to imagine between her and Mellie. But it also sounded like the absolute farthest thing from what Mellie would actually enjoy.

"Manicures? Are you sure?"

"You don't like it." Mellie tried to stop the defeated feeling from rising in her chest.

"No, no! I think it sounds fun!" Charlotte tried to reign in the self-detriment she could tell was taking over her mom's brain. She really hadn't meant to sound uninterested. "It just doesn't seem like something you'd, you know, enjoy. I mean, Mellie Grant and manicures?"

Mellie smiled, completely aware of where Charlotte was coming from. It didn't sound like Mellie. But maybe it should.

"Let's give it a try, ok?"


	30. Chapter 30

Charlotte shifted her right hand in front of her mouth, blowing gently on her wet nails as the ending credits of _The Notebook_ rolled. She snuck a glance over at her mother, who wore a mixture of disgust and emotion on her face. Mellie hadn't really wanted to watch that movie, Charlotte knew, but had given into her daughter's pleading. Emotional romance and tears weren't exactly Mellie Grant's style.

"That bad?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow as she motioned to her mother. Mellie turned, trying to figure out how to not start a fight over a movie her daughter so very clearly enjoyed. But she couldn't help what she thought. The movie was just… lame. Romance stories weren't her favorite to begin with, but this one just took it way too far.

"No, uh, it's, I mean it's not quite my style, but I can see-"

"It's okay, Mom." Charlotte made sure to keep a gently smile on her face. "You don't have to like it just because I do. And I'm, um, I'm glad you watched it with me."

Mellie just nodded and smiled at her daughter, holding onto the moment as long as she could. But Charlotte grew uncomfortable, though she wasn't sure why. She wanted this connection with her mom, she did, but it was just so… foreign. This was definitely going to take some getting used to, provided the two of them could keep it up.

"So I'm kind of tired, I think I'll go to bed." Charlotte stood abruptly, rolling her shoulders, and trying to ignore the look of confusion and anguish on her mother's face. She wasn't trying to hurt Mellie's feelings, truly, but this… thing… that they were trying, the therapy, and the talking, and the getting along and actually being happy, was going to take some getting used to.

"Oh, ok." Mellie desperately tried to stop herself from over thinking and becoming analytical. She knew that Charlotte was trying, she could see it, feel it, but that dark part of her mind was whispering in her ear that she wasn't good enough, and she wasn't going to fix this. But she pushed it down, as much as she could, telling herself that it was late, and Charlotte was tired. She stood, cautiously wrapping her arms around her daughter's frame, breathing an audible sigh of relief when Charlotte's arms returned the gesture. Charlotte almost wanted to melt into her mother's embrace. Almost.

"Goodnight, baby girl." Mellie kissed Charlotte's forehead.

"Goodnight." Charlotte disengaged herself from Mellie, climbing the stairs to her room. Once inside, her lungs stopped working for a moment, before she began to cry, silently, but uncontrollably. Her entire body shook, as she stood just inside the doorway, door closed and supporting her just the smallest bit. She wasn't sure why she was crying so hard, why she felt so emotional. It wasn't as if she and Mellie had had a bad night. The night had been one of the best Charlotte could remember since before high school graduation, at least. So why was she crying? She had no idea. Maybe it was some sort of release that she needed, or maybe not. There was nothing she could do but ride out the tears, as she made her way into her comfortable bed, fully dressed and makeup still perfectly intact. In the morning, she wasn't sure whether she had fallen asleep or stopped crying first.

Downstairs, Mellie was having her own breakdown. But she knew why. The night had been going so well, but she felt Charlotte pull away at the last moment. What Mellie couldn't understand was why. Nothing had happened, no past demons had been brought up, and yet, Charlotte stopped being there with her at some point between the end of the movie and bed. And Mellie was beginning to lose hope. If a night as good as this one still left a gap between them at the end of it, how was their relationship going to get any better? All Mellie wanted was to close the gap, she wanted it so desperately it physically hurt, but she couldn't figure out how. There was no fix, no secret that she could unlock and get her daughter back. She had been trying for weeks, and she still felt like there was no progress. Charlotte still felt so distant from her. Charlotte felt like Karen, and Mellie hated that.

The tears that were almost overflowing were stopped by the buzzing of her phone. As she reached to pick it up, she hoped it was Marcus. All she needed right now was his comforting words and warm voice, and probably his strong arms to hold her and make her feel like there was someone on her side. But she was disappointed to see Olivia's name on the screen, and slightly annoyed that she was calling so late, after they'd already spoken.

"Olivia." Mellie didn't try to hide the annoyance in her voice when she answered the phone, not that she ever hid it when it came to Olivia, but Liv just breezed right over Mellie's tone.

"I know what we're going to do for the press conference tomorrow." Mellie sighed, rubbing her, now aching, forehead.

"Liv, it's late. Can we talk about this tomorrow."

"No." Olivia could feel Mellie's eye roll through the phone. "Don't roll your eyes. I need you to call Karen, get her down here early tomorrow morning."

"Liv, she was just here a week and a half ago, I don't want her to miss-"

"She won't miss much school, a few days tops. She's a smart girl, she'll be fine. Get her down here. We're going to have all the children at the press conference tomorrow, use them to explain your absence."

"Olivia, I'm tired of using my children for political gains." Now it was Olivia's turn to roll her eyes.

"It's not a political gain, Mellie. It's mostly the truth. We'll put the four of you in front of the White House, have Fitz there but not on camera. Say that you were taking some family time to try and work through everything that had come to light recently. Which you were, just not what America thinks has come to light. You'll say that, after much discussion, you are ready to hit the road once more, work hard for the American people, now that you are reassured of how strong your family is. Your family comes first. They'll love that."

Mellie was still unsure, but Olivia was on a roll, and Mellie of all people knew that there was no stopping her. So she conceded.

"Fine. I'll call Karen in the morning. You set everything up."

"This is good. We're back, Mellie."

"We're back."

Mellie hung up the phone, curling up into the couch cushions. Having her children all together again would be nice, great even, but she wasn't sure how Charlotte would handle it. She was so unpredictable, and seeing her siblings, Fitz's children… Mellie didn't know if that would make Charlotte happy, or just more distraught that Herb was her biological father.

Mellie shook her head, slightly annoyed with herself. There she was, more worried about Charlotte than Karen or Teddy. She hated that part of herself, that part that loved one child more than the others. She wished she could change it, but no matter how hard she tried, and she had tried, for seventeen years, it was always Charlotte above all.

Her phone buzzed again, and Mellie's jaw shifted in annoyance. Olivia seriously had no boundaries. But that annoyance melted away instantly as Marcus's name appeared on the screen. Mellie answered the phone, desperate for his voice.

"Can't sleep?" She tried to keep her tone light, hoping he wouldn't know how she was feeling. It didn't work.

"I didn't try. I figured you might want to talk. Are you two still bonding?"

"No, if you could call it that. She- I-" Mellie had no idea how to finish the sentence, and even if she wanted to, she didn't trust any words to come out. But Marcus understood.

"I'll come over." She just nodded before he hung up the phone, so utterly grateful that he had been placed in her life, this man who seemed to know her every thought and feeling. Her marriage with Fitz had been good at first, maybe even great, but what she had with Fitz was still nothing like this. This was real.

Mellie heard Marcus's key turn in the door less than twenty minutes later, but didn't bother getting up. In the twenty minutes since they had spoken, she had gone too far into her own thoughts and self-hatred, going to that place Marcus had seen too many times before. So when he approached her form, curled up on the sofa, he was gentle. It scared him so badly when she did this. Ever since she told him about… Well, he promised himself he would always be there to save her from falling of the edge.

He knelt carefully in front of her, taking her hands in his, trying to make eye contact with those glazed over baby blues. Eventually, she looked at him. But it seemed to Marcus that she wasn't looking at him. She was seeing something else, something far away and from a different time.

"Mel," his voice was soft, barely more than a whisper, but it brought her back just enough to see him. And the moment she saw him, her face crumpled. He moved onto the couch next to her, engulfing her in his strong figure and his overwhelming love. His warm lips found her forehead, and then her cheeks, and finally, her soft lips. Neither one deepened the kiss, just left it where it was, lips barely touching, but giving each other the best comfort. "Let's go to bed."

He helped her stand up, leaving a hand on the small of her back as they ascended the stairs, breaking off for just a moment as they entered the bedroom, heading to find a set of pajamas to wear. He dressed with his back turned to her, knowing she was still self-conscious about her back. But when he turned back around, expecting to find Mellie in a comfortable set of pajamas, he was faced with her naked body. She stood there, biting her lip and looking at him. They hadn't had sex since the kidnapping, and he absolutely did not want to pressure her. So he just waited, letting her come to him.

Mellie approached Marcus slowly, fully aware of her state of undress, but also fully comfortable and safe, just her and her love. She stopped inches away from him, watching his heaving chest as he forced himself not to let his eyes look anywhere south of her face. She moved to kiss him, softly and more deeply than earlier. One delicate hand moved under his shirt, playing with the little hairs across his stomach and chest, until it came to rest on his heart. There was a great comfort for both of them, being this close. Not physically close, necessarily, but emotionally. Marcus pulled away from the kiss just enough to look into Mellie's eyes, questioning her without saying anything. She nodded.

"Make me feel loved." And he did.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: Hi guys! So sorry for the inordinately long delay, life's crazier than the last episode of Scandal right now (hahahahahaha no really though.) but MELLIE'S PRESIDENT YES! Anyways, here's a longer chapter for your enjoyment. Read, review, critique, and hopefully love! xoxo

Charlotte woke up much later than usual the next morning, eyes puffy and face red. She tried to shake off the sleep, but it wasn't working well. After a moment of debate on whether or not to just lay back down and stay there for the rest of the day, she slipped out from under the covers and padded over to the bathroom. The water sprayed out of the shower head at a freezing cold temperature, but she didn't turn it up, and instead stepped under the icy blast. She felt a weight move off her chest under the cold of the water, realizing that, despite her awkward exit and random sobbing session, last night had been wonderful. She and Mellie had felt connected, like mothers and daughters are supposed to. A part of her, well, most of her, felt like she was making this more difficult than it had to be. The trust… that was hard for Charlotte. It might always be hard for her. But she was the one who kept pulling away. And in that moment, she asked herself, really asked herself, _why_ she kept pulling away.

As she thought about the answer, she realized that it wasn't out of fear. She was pulling away because the little girl in her was still trying to punish Mellie for the past. Except Mellie had proven herself time and time again lately, so maybe she should stop brooding over the past, and instead focus on the present. Right now, Mellie was doing everything that Charlotte had asked of her, and even the things Charlotte had only wished she would do. So maybe, for the moment, it was better to let go of trying to punish her mom. Besides, Charlotte told herself, the moment Mellie screwed up again, if she did, Charlotte could go right back to keeping her distance. But for now, she was getting her mom back, something she had wanted for over two years. They still had work to do, Charlotte knew, but she was going to stop resisting from this moment forward.

Mellie woke up to soft sheets on her body, and strong caramel arms wrapped around her waist. Marcus had buried his face into the back of her neck, and she tried not to disturb his peace as she craned her head to look at the time. But all thoughts of letting her lover sleep flew out of her head the moment she saw the time.

"Oh, shit!" Mellie rolled out of the bed as fast as she could, pulling Marcus about a foot across the sheets as she did so, and abruptly waking him up. She ran into her closet, shivering as the cold morning air accosted her naked body, and throwing on the first pair of jeans and sweatshirt that she could find. Marcus stumbled through the doorframe of the closet as she did so, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"What are you doing baby?" His words were slurred from his yawn, but she just shook her head, pushing past him. Marcus managed to wake himself up enough to watch her grab her phone and send out the quickest text she could. "Mellie?"

"I told Liv I'd call Karen and have her come down here for this press conference, and I'm supposed to go talk to Fitz about it all, and it's already noon!" Mellie was frantically fixing her hair in front of the mirror, trying to make herself look semi-presentable for the White House. "Liv is going to kill me, I mean, literally kill, if this press conference doesn't happen."

Marcus stumbled out of the bed, laughing gently to himself, and tucking an arm around Mellie's waist. "You look beautiful. Now stop fussing."

She let out a breath as her arms came down, giving him a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I'm just a little nervous. I haven't had my children all in one place since… well, I don't know what to expect." She shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, even though she was panicking inside. Since Jerry died, that's what she hadn't said. And aside from that, there was a tension in her family that hadn't been there. Loss, that was there, but tension was not. Abruptly, she turned in Marcus's arms, picking her phone back up. She looked up Karen's contact, taking a breath before hitting call. Karen picked up nearly instantly.

"Mom? Is everything ok?" Mellie realized, hearing the edge in Karen's voice, that she was probably worried Charlotte had gone and done something stupid again. This whole situation made Mellie feel like she couldn't breathe.

"Yes honey, everything's fine. Your sister's fine. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just wondering if you'd like to come home for a little while? I could have the jet pick you up within the hour." Her words emulated calm, trying to act as if there was no alternative motive. Mellie felt dirty, but she wanted this presidency.

"Do you need to do something for the campaign?" Karen was too smart. She had Mellie's brain.

"Honey, I don't mean to-"

"No, Mom, it's fine. I'll come home. I know how important this is to you." What had happened to Mellie's little girl? The one who got high and made a sex tape, who used to argue with Mellie on everything?

"Thank you honey. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"Me too." Karen hung up first. Mellie wasn't so sure if that meant she was eager, or annoyed. She supposed she'd find out.

The White House was eerily quiet, and Mellie wasn't sure if it was her imagination, or if everyone had just disappeared in preparation for her appearance. Her feet knew the way even if her mind was preoccupied, and she found herself outside of Fitz's office, despite not remembering actually walking there. The receptionist nodded her in quickly, and she found Fitz hunched over a thick stack up papers. He looked up when she entered, softening just a little, and standing up to greet her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Even divorced, they were more comfortable with each other than most other people.

"Well, this is unexpected." Mellie sat awkwardly when he motioned her to do so, and he sat just inches from her. He waited for her to lay her head on his chest like she usually did, or grab his hand, but she just sat there. He could see the wheels turning in her mind, and knew something was bothering her. "Mels, what's wrong?" Finally, finally, she looked at him. There was a war in her eyes.

"Do you think…" She stopped, scared to voice what she was thinking. But she had to. This was his family to. "The kids, this whole… thing." She threw her hands up in the air, grasping at imaginary objects, trying to get her words out. "All that's happened, maybe the universe is trying to tell us something. We sent our kids away here, Jerry died here, Charlotte was kidnapped because we're here. Maybe we shouldn't be here. Maybe I shouldn't be here." She almost choked as the words came out, but she had to say them. It had been bugging her the whole way here, thinking about doing this press conference, and everything that had happened, all because of this big white house.

Fitz stopped her, literally watching the thoughts swirling in her head pull her in. Her out his hands under her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his. He paused for a moment, taking her in, taking in what she said. But, if anyone, anyone in the world, deserved this presidency, it was her.

"The universe is not trying to tell you anything, Mel. You deserve this. After all you've… been through, all I put you through, you deserve this. More than anything." She smiled up at him, thankful that he was on her side in all this. Composing herself, she stood up.

"In that case, you'll be needed at the press conference Liv will be calling for this afternoon, in the front garden." Fitz smiled, letting a laugh bubble in his throat.

"I will be there." Mellie smiled gently, and turned to leave.

"I'll take Teddy back to the house with me. Karen will be here in a few hours. I'm thinking family dinner tonight. You should let the chef's know." She called over her shoulder.

"Mel?" She turned, seeing a lopsided smile adorning his face. "You're gonna make a great president." And with that, she left.

Charlotte padded down the stairs in her robe, not sure just what she would say to her mom. "I'm sorry" seemed, well, maybe the right thing to say, but definitely not something Charlotte could actually utter. Maybe, she'd just start with "I had fun last night." Of course, that sort of sounded like something you text an acquaintance the night after an awkward dinner. "Good morning" was probably-

There was a man. In the kitchen. Making food. In his boxers. Well, this was officially the awkward morning she was hoping to avoid. It took Charlotte a second to realize he had no idea she was standing there, and then another second to figure out whether she should simply run away from saying hi to the guy who had obviously gotten it on with her mom last night, or pretend like she didn't know what he was doing there. She didn't have to make a decision, though, because Marcus turned towards the island behind him at that moment, and saw her standing there, very creepily, in the doorway.

"Morning, Charlotte." Okay, she could see Mellie's attraction to him, but that did not make this any less awkward.

"Where's my mom?"

"Oh, she had to go out and get Karen. She said it was okay if I waited for her, so I just thought I'd make some breakfast." As he said it, Marcus was starting to wonder if he should've gone out until Mellie came home. He was used to being here, but with Charlotte living with Mellie, it felt very awkward to stay here without Mellie.

"Ok." She should have turned. But, of course, she didn't. Thank God he had a shirt on. Charlotte plopped herself on the stool across the island, and watched as Marcus turned the bacon in the pan. "That smells good."

"Thank you. Your mom's been trying to teach me how to cook. I'm not sure how well it's going." They both laughed as some grease splattered onto the counter.

"Better than me, I promise." They smiled, but the awkward tension slowly returned. Marcus hadn't dated someone with kids before, and Charlotte was definitely not used to her mom being with a guy other than her dad. "So, I feel like I'm kind of obligated to ask you this, you know, as the daughter, but what exactly are you intentions with my mom?" Charlotte didn't mean for it to come out sounding so _formal_ , but she did want to know. As much as she loved Fitz, he had broken Mellie's heart. And as difficult as their mother-daughter dynamic was proving to be, Charlotte still was not about to let another man break her mama's heart.

Marcus, for his part, almost choked on the water he had reached for. Sure, this was something he had thought about, but he and Mellie hadn't even talked about their future together. He wasn't expecting her daughter to ask him about it.

"I don't- uh- your mom is a great woman, amazing, really. And I love her. We hadn't really talked about this, exactly,-"

Charlotte tried not to laugh. This guy was obviously in love with Mellie, but his reaction was so strange, it was almost funny.

"I think that whatever happens is up to your mom. I'm not going to leave her." Ok, that surprised Charlotte.

"Good. She's really amazing, you know. I mean, we have our problems but… She doesn't deserve all the shit life's thrown at her. And she definitely doesn't deserve to have another man break her heart."

"I know." Something made Marcus want to prove himself to this girl, and let her know that he wanted to protect Mellie more than anything.

"I hope you do. Because she taught me how to handle a gun when I was five, so I'm a pretty damn good shot."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, and two sets of grown footsteps walking in, accompanied by a pair of tiny feet. Marcus was thankful for the interruption. He knew that Charlotte just wanted to protect her mom, but something in her expression told Marcus that if he ever did hurt Mellie, he would find out just how good of a shot Charlotte was.

"Charchar!" Came Teddy's excited little voice as he rounded the corner, and thrust himself into his big sister's arms.

"Hi baby! I missed you so much." Charlotte cuddled into his curls, finding instant comfort in the little boy.

"Hey Char." Charlotte looked up to see Karen standing hesitantly at the entrance to the kitchen, as Mellie went over to greet Marcus. Charlotte smiled, noticing the tension in her sister's body. With one glance, she let Karen know that it was all ok, they were ok. And Karen came over to join her two siblings, as Marcus dished the breakfast he had made onto five plates.


End file.
